Until I Find My Way Back To You: Book 1
by captainwhiteshadow
Summary: Book 1: Blood Harvest. Zoey and her boyfriend, Zack, fight to escape the Infected. When Zack becomes a Hunter, can he save his beloved Zoey and the other survivors from the Infected...and even himself? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

**A/N: This entire series, with the exception of a few parts occasionally, will be told from my OC, Zack's, P.O.V. Enjoy! And please review for the poor Arizona boy. Thank you! =P**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 1: Running Blind**

"Zoey! They're coming! Run!" I yelled as I slammed the metal doors shut. I grabbed the pale, slender hand of the one I loved and we made a break for it. I could hear the shouts of the horde of Infected from behind us. They were trying to break through the door. They were just normal Infected though, so they couldn't possibly do it…not without help that is.

"Zack! I'm scared!" I heard Zoey shout. The fear in her voice made my heart ache. My precious angel was afraid. But I would make sure I got her out of here alive.

And then I heard it—the sound of the metal, barred door crashing to the floor. The Tank that I avoided earlier must have followed me. _Shit! How could I have been so careless? How could I have put my beloved Zoey in danger?_

The Tank drew nearer, its mad roar echoing through the dark halls of the asylum. We turned a corner and saw the bright red EXIT sign above the door. Freedom was only a couple yards away. _We're gonna make it Zoey. We're gonna make it!_

A deafening screech. And then the ceiling above us collapsed. An Infected wearing a blue, hooded sweater taped up in duct tape fell down from the hole in the ceiling. A Hunter. Zoey and I stopped in our tracks. There was a horde and a Tank behind us, and now a Hunter in front of us. I spotted an open door to the side of us and pulled Zoey in with me just as the Hunter jumped. I closed the door and boarded it up with a few chairs and a metal desk. There were a couple normal Infected in the room with us, but I quickly took them out with a pistol I had holstered at my side—Orion, my trusty, twelve-shot pistol; the one my father gave me for my sixteenth birthday, just before he died. I heard banging on the door. It wouldn't hold much longer. I looked around for a way to escape. That's when I saw it.

"Zoey, look!" I shouted, pointing to a vent near the top of the wall.

"Will we fit?" she asked.

"I don't know, but we've got to try!" I yelled as I pulled her to the vent. I gave her a boost and she crawled right in. A perfect fit.

"Zack, hurry!" she said.

I climbed up on a chair and reached for the vent. I tried to wiggle my way through, but my shoulders were too broad. And then I realized that this was the end for me. There was no other escape. But Zoey could still make it. She could get to some other survivors; get help. I grabbed my gun and a couple magazines and passed them under her legs. She looked at them quizzically.

"Zack, what are you…?"

"Zoey, I can't fit through the vent. You need to get out of here while you can. Take Orion and shoot anything that looks like an Infected. You have about twenty-nine bullets left. I'm sorry…but the rest is up to you," I said.

Zoey's eyes widened as she stared back at me. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Zack…no…No! You can't leave me!"

"I'll distract them while you escape." I looked up at her beautiful emerald eyes. It would be the last time I saw them. "I love you…Zoey."

I closed the vent and locked it, making sure no Infected could follow after her. I heard the door finally bust open, chairs and the desk I placed there flying in all different directions. A tear rolled down my face as I turned around, staring into the hungry eyes of the Infected. The Tank's massive fist slammed down, crushing most of the common Infected. He pushed passed others and ran straight for me. I rolled to the side as he brought his fist where my face used to be. I parried behind him and made a run for the door. I was then hit from behind by a chair, knocking me down. I quickly got back up as the Tank tried once more to crush me beneath him. I ran through the halls until I came to a staircase. I didn't waste time going down it properly. Instead, I leaped down it and rolled as I hit the ground. I heard the Tank behind me. I needed a place to hide. I suddenly spotted a seemingly empty cell room and entered it, closing the door behind me.

I waited in silence, listening for the Tank to pass me by. When the beating of its footsteps finally lessened, I dropped down to my knees and let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding. The only thing on my mind was Zoey. Did she make it out okay? Was she hurt? Was she scared? That last question was stupid. Of course she was scared! You'd have to be insane to not be scared. Like me. But I was scared— more so for Zoey's safety than of the Infected.

_Oh Zoey…I'm so sorry_, I thought to myself in sadness._ I wanted so much more than this. I wanted to spend my life with you. I wanted to have a family with you. I wanted to wake up every day knowing that you'll be there by my side. But this is the end for me, I guess. Even if I do make it out of here alive, how long will that last? A day? Two? I can only hope that you make it out alive, and that you find someone that can make you as happy as you made me._

Suddenly, I heard a sound like crawling. It was coming from above. I looked up to meet the crimson, glowing eyes of a Hunter. I didn't have time to react. The Hunter pounced with a screech and landed on me, knocking me on my back. I struggled to break free as it tore at my chest, ripping my shirt to shreds and cutting deep gashes over my heart. I noticed a broken bottle lying next to me, and grabbed it. With one quick swipe, I brought the sharp glass up to the Hunter's neck and severed it, making it fall limp to the floor beside me. But some of its blood got in my mouth….

The foul taste of salt, metal, and bile ran down my throat. I coughed uncontrollably. I tried to spit it up, but it was no use. The blood was already in my system; the virus already starting to infect me. I sat up in pain. My chest hurt like nothing else. I was shaking, and I couldn't stop. The pain from my chest started to spread. It became a burning, torturous pain that first spread to my arms, then down to my legs, while at the same time spreading to my head. I shut my eyes tight from the pain. The shaking wouldn't stop, in fact it did just the opposite and I shook more. I felt ice cold, but at the same time burning hot. _Am I changing already? It never happened this fast before._

I felt my fingertips start to grow into sharp claws. My teeth grew razor sharp, making my gums bleed. Soon, the pain became so unbearable, I passed out, with only the thought of Zoey's face as the last thing I saw in my mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 2: The Eyes of a Hunter**

When I woke up, the pain was gone. It was replaced with a numb feeling. My mind was in a haze. How long had I been sleeping? I couldn't remember anything. Where was I? _Who_ was I? What happened to me? I tried to think back to any memories I might have, but all I saw was darkness in my mind.

I looked around. Everything had a sickening brown tone to it. Like sepia, only not as appealing. I was in a blank room. There was no furniture anywhere. Only padded, white walls—at least, I think they were white. Not even a window to climb out of. But there was a door behind me.

Then I noticed my heightened sense of smell, which was something I wasn't too happy about since everything smelled like a rotting corpse. I tried to stand, but found the task to be hard. So I took it slow. I kneeled on one foot and stood slowly, my legs wobbling a little as I did so. After a few minutes, I got the hang of it. I walked around the room slowly. I walked toward the door and exited the room, looking down the long, dark halls. It was odd. Although I saw everything in sepia, I could easily see in the dark, as if I had night-vision.

I came to a room with the door busted off its hinges. Inside, there were many people. But they weren't…well…_alive_-looking. Most of them had gashes and gray skin. Blood was smeared all over their faces. Others had boils and tumors running down their bodies from head to toe. And then it clicked. Infected!

I crouched down on all fours—something that my body seemed to do automatically—and let loose a blood-curdling screech. Was that really me? The crowd of Infected turned their heads one by one to face my direction. I noticed one of them walk towards me, tumors covering one side of his face, blocking the view of his left eye. He had spiky, unnaturally blue hair and he wore a black shirt and brown slacks— weird, I could see color on the Infected. I recognized him as a Smoker.

"Hey, man, easy, easy!" he said, to my surprise, in a language I could understand.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I jumped back a little, eyes widening. "W-What did you say?"

The Smoker held his hands up defensively, and smiled a little, or at least what passed for one. "You're new, aren't you?"

"'New'?" I repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't think he understands, Jerry," a deep voice called from somewhere in the crowd of Infected. I searched out the voice's owner. It belonged to an obese, boil and tumor covered Infected. A Boomer.

The Smoker named Jerry let out a sigh, which then turned into a coughing fit. He reached out his hand to lean up against the wall for support.

"Uh, hey, man, you alright?" I asked. _Wait, why do I care? This guy is an Infected!_

Jerry nodded his head, his coughing fit finally dying down. "Yeah, that always happens. Anyway, what I'm saying is…you're one of us now, bro."

It took a moment for that to sink in. "One…of…us?"

"Yeah, you're an Infected now," Jerry replied. "A Hunter, to be exact."

"No!" I shouted, clutching my head. My eyes widened. "I…I can't be…I hate Infected! They're monsters! They kill people!"

Jerry looked up at the ceiling. He must have expected this kind of reaction. "It's not like we want to be this way. But humans are the only thing we can eat. Everything else tastes like sand. Besides, hating humans comes to us as a natural instinct. It'll happen to you, too."

I glared at the Smoker. "I could never hate humans!"

"Why?" Jerry asked. "What reason do you have to like them? Do you even remember anything about your human life?"

"Of course I…" I trailed off. What was it like to be human? My mind came to a blank when I tried to remember. Did I have any friends? Family? Loved ones?

"You see," Jerry replied, going into another coughing fit.

"But…" I sat down on the floor cross-legged, with my hands in my hair, "…how? How could I just forget everything? Oh!" An idea finally popped into my mind. "I know! Maybe I was hit really hard and just have amnesia!"

Jerry rolled his eyes, or at least the one visible, yellow one. "Yeah, we all went through denial at first. Doesn't change anything. See, look for yourself."

He stuck his long tongue out and wrapped it around a mirror, pulling it up to me so I could see myself. I was shocked at the person looking back at me. The person I saw had long, shaggy, black hair. He had pale skin and bright, glowing, crimson eyes. His mouth was stained red from the razor-sharp teeth that must have cut his gums while coming out. His hands were shaped like sharp claws. He wore a torn-up, white t-shirt and ripped jeans.

"Is this…me?" I asked hesitantly. Jerry nodded. I stepped back a little, an overwhelming sense of grief taking over. I was a monster; a killing machine. What was my purpose?

"So, anyway…" Jerry started, tossing the mirror to the side and shattering it, "…what's your name?"

"My name…?" What _was_ my name? I knew I had to have something. If Jerry had a name, then I should, too. Just then, letters formed in my mind that seemed to spell out one name. "My name is…Zack."

"'Zack'," Jerry repeated, testing out the name. "It suits you. Anyway, as you already know, I'm Jerry." He put his hand behind me and led me further through the crowd. "And these are some random idiots that hang out here until they hear a human nearby. Well, except for Michael over here." He pointed to the Boomer from earlier. "He and I have been best buds since…well, we think we were friends when we were human, but we don't really know. Anyway, welcome to the club."

"Club?" I asked.

Jerry sighed. "It's an expression."

"Oh."

"So, have you gone hunting for the first time, yet?" he asked.

I felt disgusted by the thought of hunting down humans like some sort of…animal. "No, and I don't plan to."

Jerry ginned. "You've gotta eat sometime, man."

"Then I'll eat a sandwich or something, but I _refuse_ to eat humans," I said, crossing my arms defiantly. My stomach growled ferociously as if disagreeing with me.

Jerry rolled his eyes. "I told you, human food tastes horrible to us Infected."

_Us Infected_, I repeated the words in my mind with disgust. "I don't believe you."

Jerry snaked his tongue out and around the corner, rummaging through something in another room. He brought back an apple. He handed it to me, which I was hesitant to take at first, since his tongue had been on it. I took the apple and peeled the skin easily with my sharp claws. I stared at the small fruit for a moment before taking a bite…and spitting it out immediately. I went into a coughing fit as I dropped the apple and it rolled into a corner.

"What…the…hell?" I said through my coughs.

"Told you," Jerry said. "Now, let's get you some _real_ food."

I grimaced. No matter how I looked at it, killing humans was murder, even if I wasn't technically the same species anymore. But Jerry was right. If I wanted to survive, I needed to kill. And since I still have the selfish, greedy, stubborn emotions of a human…I won't die. I could just kill myself, but I'm too cowardly to do that, so my only option is to live…even if it's as a monster.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 3: The Chase**

The wind rushed through my hair as I ran and jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Along with being a Hunter, I gained incredible speed and I could jump higher and further. Jerry ran beside me, using his tongue to latch onto things and pull him forward to keep up with my pace. Although I still didn't like Infected, I supposed I could get used to this. After all, there was no going back now, right?

Jerry suddenly stopped a few feet ahead of me, and I stopped next to him, turning my confused gaze to the direction of his own stare. Humans. Four of them to be exact. One was an elderly man with white hair and a white beard, wearing a Vietnam War veteran uniform. He carried an M16 for a weapon and a cigarette in his mouth. There was another man who was muscular and looked to be in his late-twenties. He had tattoos inked all over his arms, and wore leather pants and a black, leather jacket over a white undershirt, making him look like a member of the Hell's Angels. For a weapon, he carried a pump shotgun. A third man was tall, dark-skinned, bald, and wore a slightly blood-stained business suit. In each of his hands, he held a pistol. And lastly, there was a girl. She was the shortest of the group, with a slim body-build, and long brown hair that she kept up in a ponytail. She wore a long-sleeved jacket over an undershirt, along with a pair of jeans. She carried a sniper rifle in her hands, and holstered at her side was a pistol with some odd-looking letters engraved on the side.

I stood at the top of the building, next to Jerry. I couldn't stop looking at the girl. Something about her seemed so…familiar. She also suddenly looked so…appealing. I licked my lips, the hunger growing almost painful.

"Ah, there we go, perfect targets," Jerry announced with a smirk. "You ready, Zack?"

I grinned, my razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight. "Let's get 'em!" I crouched down and was about to pounce when Jerry suddenly stopped me.

"Easy there, you'll get yourself killed if you just attack carelessly. Watch and learn, young grasshopper." Jerry hid behind a large concrete structure on top of the building, sticking his head out from the side just enough to get a clear shot at the humans. His tongue flew from his mouth and wrapped around the burly, Hell's Angels guy's neck. The man shouted as Jerry dragged him away from the group.

"Bill! Louis! Zoey!" the man called out. "A Smoker's got me!"

_Zoey…?_ I thought as I watched Jerry drag away his snack. _Where have I heard that name before?_

"Don't worry, Francis!" the Vietnam veteran called out. "Hold on tight, kid." He fired a few rounds at Jerry's tongue, splitting it in two. The biker guy known as Francis dropped to the ground.

"Thanks Bill," Francis said, running back to the group and readying his gun.

"Shit!" Jerry swore as he drew back what remained of his tongue. He grabbed me and dragged me inside a new building as bullets flew past us.

"Wow, that was some mad skills you showed me back there," I said sarcastically.

Jerry glared at me. "Shut up."

I grinned. "So, how's your tongue?"

Jerry waved it off. "I'll be fine. My tongue grows back fast. But for now, I want you to try and catch one of them. Try singling them out; get them separated."

I nodded. "Right." _And I know just who I'm going after first._

I rushed out another window and leaped onto a building, looking for the humans. I spotted them running down a dirt road, firing away at common Infected. I leaped onto another building, then another, following them from above. They eventually came to a large church and went inside. I jumped down from the building I was on, and ran over to the house of God—too bad for them though, He decided to go on a vacation. There were crevices in the brick walls, so I climbed up the left side of the church, up into a broken window. I saw that they were all huddled together in their little group, speaking in whispers. I couldn't hear them, so I decided to move closer, trying not to be spotted. I climbed down a set of stairs, leading to the lower part of the church, and hid behind a pillar.

"…and then we need to see if we can find any radios to call for help," Bill was saying.

Francis scoffed. "I don't see why we don't just grab a shitload of pipe bombs and blow all those fuckers up."

"If we do that, it's bound to cause a lot of noise, making stronger Infected come running to us," the dark-skinned business man, who I assume was Louis, explained.

"Then we blow them up, too," Francis said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Do you really think a pipe bomb or a Molotov is going to defeat a Tank?" Zoey asked.

"No," Francis replied. "But a dozen will."

"Well, we don't _have_ a dozen to spare, kid," Bill said. "So we need to find a more effective way of killing the Infected."

I couldn't take it anymore. The hunger was killing me. I was about to make my presence know by attacking, when suddenly a horde of common Infected, followed by a Boomer, barged through the door. The group of humans opened fire on the oncoming Infected. Just then, the Boomer let loose a vile, green substance from its mouth, splattering it on the humans. The humans were temporarily blinded.

_Perfect!_ I thought as I rushed up to the girl, Zoey, and grabbed her from behind. She kicked and screamed as I dragged her out of the church. I heard her comrades yell for her, but they couldn't help her at the moment. Just then, she brought her fist up and hit me square in the jaw. I dropped her, mostly out of shock, and stumbled back a little. It was dark where we were now, so I was sure she couldn't see me properly. I dodged a few bullets she shot randomly at the darkness. She ran, and I could see the fear in her eyes. The chase began.

I followed her to a seemingly abandoned, old, two-story house. She shut the door behind her and I heard the lock click. I suppressed the urge to laugh. Did she really think a door could keep her safe? I quickly busted down the door with a few quick swipes. Inside the house, there were finely decorated rooms. Paintings from famous artists were displayed on the walls, although some of them had been torn to shreds. There were some pots and plates with exotic designs on them. And there was a staircase leading to the second floor.

I slowly climbed the staircase, sniffing the air. She was close. That's when I spotted her in a child's room, working on taking off some boards from a window so she could climb out. I snuck up behind her and crouched. She barely had time to turn around before I was on top of her, pinning her to the ground. I was about to thrust my sharp claws into her chest when she let out an audible gasp, her eyes widening as she looked up at me. There was shock, horror, sadness, and some other deep emotions swirling in her eyes.

"Zack?" she asked.

I stopped and just looked at her, still pinning her to the ground. How did this girl know my name? And why did she seem so familiar?

"How do you know my name?" I asked, but then I remembered that humans couldn't speak the language of the Infected. I tried to remember how to ask my question in human language, talking slowly to get the hang of it…again. "How…do…you…know…me?"

"Zack…it…it really is you," she said, tears starting to roll down her face. "You don't remember me? It's me, Zoey."

My mind felt hazy. But then, something hit me. No, not a memory. It felt sharp, and it bit me in the shoulder. I jumped off Zoey in surprise, looking back to see her comrades standing in the doorway.

"Zoey, watch out!" Louis shouted, aiming his pistols at me.

All of a sudden, Zoey stood up in front of me with her arms spread out, facing Louis. "No, wait!"

"Huh?" Francis blinked. "Zoey, what are you doing?! That's a Hunter, not a human! It'll kill you!"

"No…please," Zoey said. "He's my boyfriend, Zack." Her comrades gasped, their eyes widening.

Bill dropped his cigarette. "Zoey, have you lost your mind?"

Louis raised an eyebrow. "Uh…shouldn't that be, like…illegal or something?"

Zoey rolled her eyes. "What I mean is…he was my boyfriend before he was changed, and he is now."

"Oh," Francis said. He lowered his gun slightly. "So, you wanna be the one to shoot him. I get it."

"We're not shooting him!" Zoey said angrily.

Louis sighed in frustration. "Zoey, he's not your boyfriend anymore. He's an Infected!"

"I don't care!" Zoey shouted. "I love him!"

Suddenly, like a rush of wind to my head, blowing away the haze and the fog that clouded my memory, I saw it: Zoey and I running through dark hallways; us hiding away in various rooms; me blasting away at any Infected that dared to come near us; me being forced to leave Zoey, so that she could be safe.

I fell to my side, clutching my head in pain as the memories started to come back. I didn't have all my memories back, but at least enough to remember who Zoey was…and to extremely regret what I had done to her.

"Zack!" Zoey rushed over to me, kneeling down next to me.

I stared up at her, my eyes widening. "Z-Zoey…I…I…" I jumped up quickly, landing next to the window. "You have to get away from me! I don't want to hurt you!"

She reached out a hand to me. "Zack, please, wait!"

But it was too late. I smashed through the window and fell to the ground, rolling as I landed. I got up and started running. I could hear Zoey shouting after me, but I couldn't turn back. Not after what I had just done to the person I loved most in the world. I'm a monster…and monsters don't get happy endings.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 4: Friend or Foe?**

I sat in the corner of a dark alley, the only light coming from a burning trashcan. I felt horrible—both mentally and physically. My stomach hurt like hell from hunger, and my mind kept running back to Zoey. I felt my heart, which had ceased to beat since I became an Infected, constrict with guilt. I had attacked the one I loved, planning to kill her. I had forgotten all about Zoey. Forgotten the fresh cherry smell of her hair. Forgotten those emerald eyes that once swirled with love and joy from being with me. Forgotten about her favorite pink sweater. Forgotten her sweet, innocent smile. Forgotten the way her lips felt against mine. Forgotten the way her body fit perfectly against mine when I held her, as if we were two pieces of a puzzle that was finally completed. Forgotten the times we shared, the precious forget-me-nots. Everything.

I suddenly smelled smoke behind me and I knew Jerry was there. I recognized his scent. "Hey, Jerry."

"Sup?" he replied as he took a seat next to me. "You look a little glum."

"I…I remembered someone from my past," I replied. "Someone precious to me."

Jerry blinked. "You _remembered_? Whoa, dude, that's pretty nice. It's extremely rare if one of us Infected remembers something of our human life. So, who's this 'precious person?'"

"A girl," I replied. Why was I telling him this? "My girlfriend, Zoey."

Jerry smirked knowingly. "Of course. It's always about a girl."

"Like every story worth telling," I said.

"Hey," Jerry said, "you got that from Spider-Man."

"I thought you said Infected don't remember things?" I reminded him mockingly.

"They don't…not usually, anyway," Jerry replied. He shrugged. "But even Infected get bored and watch movies."

"Huh," I mused. "I would've thought that things like electronic appliances would be a handicap to the Infected."

Jerry rolled his eyes. "We don't _all_ get stupid when we change."

"This coming from the guy who got his tongue shot off," I retorted with a grin, which earned me a slight smack on the back of the head.

"Hey, Hunters who are afraid to hunt shouldn't be talking," Jerry said, then added, "Besides, my tongue grew back already."

"It's not that I'm afraid to…" I replied, frowning at the memory of chasing Zoey, "…I just…when we were hunting those humans…"

Jerry blinked, his teeth clinched. "Wait…this 'precious person' of yours…she's a human, isn't she?"

My eyes narrowed. "So what if she is?"

Jerry stood up, appalled. "You can't be with a human! Infected _kill_ humans, not _love_ them!"

I stood up, standing at eye-level to him, and glared at him. "So what if I am? So what if I don't want to hunt humans?"

Jerry glared back. "Zack, you're an Infected now. Your human life is over! Why can't you understand that? To humans, you're dead!"

"Because I still feel human!" I yelled back, anger coating my voice. "And as long as I feel that way, I'll continue to love Zoey. I'll protect her, no matter what!"

There was a long moment of silence between us. Finally, Jerry spoke up. "Whose side are you on? The Infected? Or the humans?"

I answered without a doubt in my mind, "Whichever side Zoey's on."

Jerry sighed, smoke seething between his teeth. "Then you leave me no choice. You have one hour to get out of here. After that, I'll tell every Infected to kill you if they see you. It's…disappointing…I thought we could be friends."

My glare softened a little. "Maybe if the situation was different, we could have been."

Jerry said no more. He turned and quickly climbed up the alley wall, not even taking a second glance at me. And that's when I knew that soon I would not only be the Hunter…but the hunted.

I turned and ran across the long dirt road that would eventually lead me to the one I love; to Zoey. I soon found their footprints in the muddy ground. It wouldn't be too hard to find them. I followed the footprints until I reached a large forest. Had they gone through here? I decided to trust my senses and venture into the darkness of the forest.

It was dark outside before…but this was just ridiculous! The trees and shrubbery offered such immense shade, even _I_ had to struggle to see in the dark. I wondered if Zoey was okay—the other three, I could honestly care less whether they were dead or alive. But in this dense forest, Zoey could be lost…or worse. I slapped myself and shoved that last thought deep into the back of my mind.

"Louis!" I heard a voice shout. It was that old man, Bill.

"Louis, where the hell are you?!" another voice yelled. Brutal. Masculine. Francis.

"Please, Louis, if you can hear us, answer!" Bingo. There she was. My angel. My savior. Zoey.

_They're looking for Louis? That one guy in the business suit?_ I thought to myself. Suddenly, I heard a low moaning coming from a few yards to my right. Out of curiosity, I made my way toward the sound.

"Well, speak of the Devil," I said in human language—I was getting better at it. I looked down at the bruised and bloodied form of Louis lying up against a tree. He had a few large gashes—most likely from an Infected attack—running up and down his arms and torso. He wouldn't live much longer if he didn't get help.

My stomach growled violently. I hadn't eaten in almost a full day now. My mind immediately began to wander. _His friends aren't here to protect him_, I thought. _It would be so simple. And yet…_

Louis opened his eyes and gasped. "Hun—"

I covered his mouth with my hand, cutting him off. I put my index finger to my lips and whispered, "_Shh!_ Do you want to alert more Infected?"

Louis' eyes widened when I uncovered his mouth. "You…you're Zack. Zoey's boyfriend."

I smirked. "Pleasure to meet you. Now, how about less chit-chat and more 'let's get the hell out of here?'" I grabbed him by the wrists and threw him onto my back, piggy-back style, to which he grunted in pain.

Louis let out a sigh of relief as I started running through the darkness. "So, you really are on our side."

"No," I answered. "I'm on whatever side Zoey's on. I'm actually extremely hungry right now." I felt Louis tense up. I smirked. "The only reason I'm not eating you right now is because I'm sure it would make Zoey upset to know that her comrade was killed by her reanimated boyfriend."

Louis shrugged a little. "Yeah, I get your point. I'm down with that, brother."

About five minutes later, the forest began to turn into a swamp. Large pits of murky water filled the woods, only visible by the light of the fireflies that roamed these woods—well, only visible to _human_ eyes through that resource. I had no problem seeing the bog. I also had no problem seeing the massive horde of Infected approaching from the other side of the swamp…wait—_what?!_

"Louis, do you see that?" I asked.

"No, but I can _hear_ it," Louis replied in a panicked voice. "Sounds like a horde, and _a lot_ of them."

"Oh, that's an understatement," I said. "Okay, we're gonna try to sneak past them. Keep your eyes out for a safe house."

"What about the others?" Louis asked.

"Zoey's a smart girl. And Bill seems wise. Francis seems like an idiot though," I replied. "But with two smart people on the team, they'll most likely be waiting in a safe house by the time we get there."

I ran around the bog, making sure to keep low and stay where there weren't a lot of dead leaves to make sound. The bog smelled worse the further I ran—like rotting corpses. But I was sure we were running _away_ from the horde. Shouldn't the smell recede?

"Up ahead!" Louis shouted in relief. "A safe house!" He pointed to a medium-sized shack up ahead. It was made of steel and other hard materials. The door was painted a dark color—_red_, I remembered from my past experiences with safe houses as a human—and barred, with 'caution' signs and posters put up all over the outside.

"Quiet, you idiot!" I shushed. "We're not out of Hell yet."

The smell was getting worse…and more familiar. I barely had time to react when I suddenly remembered the smell. Suddenly, a spew of vomit flew towards us. I wasn't really affected by it, since I was an Infected anyway, and I could still see easily. But Louis was now covered in the stuff, making him temporarily blind, and tipping off the horde of our whereabouts.

I terrible scream pierced through the night as the horde approached us, running as fast as they could. And who was to blame for all this commotion? Why, the answer is simple…

"_Michael_," I said as I spotted the fat bastard running off into the woods. But he wouldn't escape. "Louis, shoot directly ahead of us!"

Louis grabbed his pistols and did as he was told, sending bullets flying ahead of them. They each hit Michael's obese, bile-filled body, making him explode on contact.

I smirked. "One idiot down, one hundred to go. Louis, can you see yet?"

"Kind of." Louis wiped his eyes with a part of his shirt that was dry.

We were almost to the safe house when I heard crying on the inside of it. It was Zoey. I caught some of what the others were saying to her.

"Zoey, Louis was a brave kid," Bill said. "He fought honorably throughout this war."

"Yeah," Francis agreed. "And if nothing else, he was fun to mess with."

"Shut up, Francis!" Zoey yelled angrily. "I'm sick of your fucking attitude! First Zack and now Louis? How many more will have to die?!"

Just then, Louis and I reached the door and I nearly busted it off its hinges as we went flying through, much to the surprise of Bill, Francis and Zoey.

"Miss us?" I asked as I placed Louis down on the floor and ran to the supplies table to grab a pipe bomb.

I pressed a red button on it, that being the _only_ button on it, and sent it flying out the door. The horde chased after the beeping object as I slammed the door shut and barred it. I pushed a few metal crates up against it, reinforcing it. An explosion and screams were heard a few seconds later.

"Jesus Christ, Louis, what happened to you?" Bill asked as he started cleaning Louis' wounds and wrapping them in gauze.

"After that Smoker grabbed me and hauled me off, I was able to shoot it in the face," Louis explained. "I left a pretty bad gash on the side of its face. It ran away. And then Zack here came and found me. We were attacked by a Boomer, and Zack told me where to shoot. He saved my life."

"I don't believe it," Francis said, holding his pistol firmly in his right hand. He wasn't pointing it at me, but it was pretty obvious what its purpose was. "A fucking Hunter saved you?"

But nobody was listening to Francis. Bill was healing Louis, while Zoey was just staring at me with the same expression as before. I flinched a little. Did she really still love me? Or was that just something she said on a whim to save me? Would she hate me now that I'm an Infected?

"Zack," Zoey called as she stepped toward me. Closer and closer, until she was just about a foot away from me. Why wasn't she running? Why wasn't she afraid of me? Why wasn't she trying to kill me?

"Zoey…" I started, "…you shouldn't get too close." _But isn't this what I want? For her to love me?_

"Why?" Zoey asked, a frown appearing on her face. I could've sworn I saw new tears starting to form.

I sighed. "Aren't you afraid of me? I'm an Infected; a Hunter."

"I don't care," Zoey said, closing the distance between us. She wrapped her arms around me, shutting her eyes tight to hold back tears, and I tensed. "I thought you were dead! I thought I would never see you again! Do you know how worried I was?! I missed you!"

Everyone else in the room stiffened, too, as if expecting me to rip Zoey apart. Instead, I just relaxed and put my arms around her, careful not to crush her or cut her with my claws. I inhaled the cherry scent of her hair. It was the best thing I'd smelled since becoming a Hunter. "I know. I'm sorry I worried you. I...I won't leave you again…that is, if you still want me."

She looked up at me, a tear rolling down her face; I wiped it away. "How could I want anything else?" She smiled, and I smiled back.

The moment was ruined by an audible clearing of the throat by Francis. "If you two lovebirds are done, do you mind getting your asses over here so we can plan our next move?"

Zoey blushed, something I couldn't help but think was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. "Right. Oh! Louis, how are you feeling?"

"Much better," Louis replied. He then looked as if he remembered something. "Hey, Zack, you mentioned something about being hungry, right?"

Bill and Francis cocked their guns and stared at me, something I wasn't surprised about. After all, I was dangerous, so it was only the normal reaction one would give. Zoey gave them a death-glare, making them lower their guns in fear.

"Yeah," I replied. "I haven't eaten anything since I was changed."

"What's the diet of a Hunter?" Bill asked.

"Psh, isn't it obvious?" Francis remarked. "Humans."

"Francis!" Zoey scolded.

"Actually…" I stared, "…he's right. Or at least that's what I've been told."

Zoey looked at me, concerned. "Who told you that?"

"Jerry," I replied. "He's a Smoker."

Francis blinked. "You can talk with those guys?"

Bill rolled his eyes as he lit up another cigarette. "Well he _is_ an Infected."

"What I don't get is how you can speak English," Louis said, looking at me.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just smarter than other Infected."

Bill got up and walked over to a slightly dented mini fridge in the corner of the room. He opened the top door and pulled something bloody and red out. "Well, whatever the case, if you're hungry, you should try eating this. Maybe it's not just humans, but any meat in general you can eat."

I saw what he was holding. It was a big, juicy, raw steak. And it smelled so…wonderful. I felt my body start to shake. My mouth was watering. Zoey let go of me and moved back a little.

"Zack, you okay?" she asked.

I didn't answer. Instead, I crouched down on all fours, as if I were hunting, and growled. Bill jumped and rolled to the side as I pounced and caught the steak he had dropped in mid-air. I tore into it with my teeth, ripping it easily, and savoring the delicious taste in my mouth. Jerry was wrong. It wasn't just humans. Any meat could satisfy a Hunter. And the blood…it was like A1 steak sauce for my meat—it just topped it all off. The pain that was my hunger had stopped. I was satisfied…at least, enough that I wouldn't kill everyone. When I was done, I turned back to the others, who were looking at me with expressions of horror, amusement, and some other emotions.

"Whoa…." Louis said. "I'm glad that wasn't me."

"Jesus, kid," Bill said, although it wasn't out of anger. He was grinning in amusement. "That's one hell of a pounce you got there. You'll make a good ally."

"What?!" Francis shouted, staring at Bill. "You can't be serious, old man!"

"Yes I am," Bill said, his cigarette bobbing up and down in his mouth as he spoke. "And if you call me 'old man' one more time, I'll tie your tongue in a knot. Trust me, I did it back in Vietnam when this guy…" He continued on about some old war story, but I wasn't listening. I was too fixated on Zoey's stare. She looked…scared.

I walked toward her slowly, trying not to send even more fear spiraling into her heart. I couldn't bare the fact that it was me who scared her. "Zoey…? Are you okay?"

She ran up to me, to my surprise, and hugged me. "Oh Zack…I'm so sorry for what's happened to you."

I smiled. _So she was just sorry for me. That's just like her, always worrying about others._ "Zoey, it's fine. I'm just glad you made it out alive."

Bill yawned. "Well, Zack, eat all the meat you want. It'll go bad soon anyway. We'll leave tomorrow morning, so everybody get some sleep!" He said that last part to everyone and then he walked off into a corner where a spare sleeping bag was laid out. He placed his M16 against the wall, opened the flap of the sleeping bag and got inside, falling asleep only seconds later.

"Well, I'm gonna hit the sack, too," Louis said, stretching. "Goodnight Zoey, Zack, Francis." He grabbed a sleeping bag for himself and curled up in the corner opposite to Bill.

Francis seemed a little peeved that Louis mentioned me before him. He grumbled something about hating Infected and then went to sleep in a corner of his own. I smirked, happy that I was making him upset.

There was an old mattress, which I guessed they had left for Zoey out of courtesy. "You should get some rest," I said to her. "I'll keep watch for any more Infected."

Zoey smiled and touched my shoulder. "We're safe in here. Why don't you come with me?"

I smiled. "I'm not tired. But I'll sit with you if you want."

I followed her to the mattress. She lay down and I sat cross-legged on the floor beside her. We just stared at each other in silence for a long time. From my memory, I could see beyond the sepia tone, and look straight into her emerald green eyes; the ones I loved so much. Slowly, her eyelids began to droop and she drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 5: Welcome to Allegheny National Forest**

I didn't sleep that night—I guess it's a side-effect of being an Infected. When morning came, Bill was the first to wake up. He proceeded to wake up the others, too. After we ate breakfast, gathered supplies, and restocked on ammo, Francis fired a few shots through the bars of the door, killing the Infected stationed just out front.

"Alright, let's move," Bill said, taking the role of leader and opening the door.

Despite the sunlight, the forest was still very shady. The good news, however, was that the bog was gone. We were no longer in a swamp, but now in an actual forest. There was a large, wooden sign next to us, with a poster that read 'Allegheny National Forest.'

"A national forest, huh?" Louis inquired. "Perfect place for Infected to be hiding."

"Francis, watch out!" Zoey suddenly shouted.

Francis had just enough time to shoot an oncoming Hunter in the head, killing it instantly. After it was dead, he spit on its lifeless form. I don't know why, but I was slightly offended by the action.

We continued on through the forest, following a dirt path leading uphill, shooting the occasional Infected. The path started to curve around a ledge, where wire fences were placed up around the edges. Louis and Francis were keeping score of how many Infected they killed. So far, Louis had killed thirteen, and Francis' score was seventeen. Bill had scolded them about paying stupid games. And Zoey stayed close to me, holding a pistol with eccentric designs on the side, and the name 'Orion' engraved on the side.

Looking at Zoey's pistol, it sparked a memory. "Hey, that's the gun I gave you, right?"

Zoey blinked. "You remembered? Yeah, you gave it to me when we escaped…" she frowned, "…well…when _I_ escaped the asylum."

"Asylum?" I asked. "We were in an asylum?"

Zoey looked surprised. "You…don't remember?"

I shook my head. "I remember escaping, but I don't remember it being in an asylum. Why were we in an asylum?" I could sense that the others were listening in on our conversation, too.

Zoey hesitated. "I…I'd rather you not remember."

I blinked. "Why not?"

"Because…I don't want you to feel…upset," she replied.

I stopped walking. The others did, too. "Zoey…please, I want to know everything about me."

"Well…" Zoey started. "We were in there because I was visiting."

I smiled. "That's kind of you. Who were you visiting?"

There was silence between us for a long moment before Zoey finally answered. "I was visiting…you."

I felt confused at first. _Visiting me? In an asylum? Why would I be in an…_ Realization finally hit me like a ton of bricks. "I…I was crazy."

"No, Zack…you weren't—"

"I was crazy. Literally crazy," I said, more to myself. "Only a lunatic would be put in an asylum. What…what did I do?"

"Okay, now I'm curious, too," Louis spoke up. "Why was he in an asylum?"

Zoey rubbed her arm. She looked uncomfortable. "Zack…you predicted that this would happen. The Infection."

"What?!" Francis, Bill and Louis shouted in unison.

I was shocked, too. "I…what? How?"

"You said you had a dream one night," Zoey explained. "About people falling in the streets. About the world being overrun by the dead come back to life." She laughed a little, pitifully. "You told me, and like the horror-film fanatic I am, I thought it was a cool story that was just like any other nightmare that someone has. But you took this more seriously. You started telling everyone in the neighborhood, warning them the world was going to end. And then you interrupted a news cast that was filming live, telling people all around the country about your dream. I was heading to your house to see what this was all about when I saw people in white suits taking you away in a van. I found out you were taken to an asylum in Pennsylvania, and went to see you. That's when the first wave of the infection started."

I couldn't believe it. One moment, I'm just trying to get used to the fact that I'm an Infected. The next, I'm trying to deal with the fact that I'm a lunatic…according to society. But I was right. _If what Zoey says is true, then I predicted the infection would occur. So I'm not crazy…_.

Zoey put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Zack…are you okay?"

"I'm…" I looked up at her and grinned, "…I'm freakin' psychic!"

The others blinked at stared at me like I was crazy…which, I guess, I was. Here we were, in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, and I was saying I was psychic.

Francis grumbled and crossed his arms. "Great, now we have a Hunter on our team, who was in an asylum, _and_ who can predict the fucking future!" He started walking further down the path, mumbling something about hating Mary-Sues.

"Come on, let's keep going," Bill said, clutching his M16.

As we walked, I leaned in to whisper "Thank you" to Zoey. She turned her head toward me and smiled, whispering a "Your welcome" to me.

Things were going great so far…until we came to a long, narrow bridge. It looked old and rickety. I remembered that Zoey was afraid of heights, and this particular bridge stood about a hundred feet above a river of rapidly flowing water, and sharp-looking rocks. She wrapped her arms around mine tightly as we started to cross the bridge slowly. And then, as if God himself were giving us the middle finger, the one thing we _really_ did not need decided to come along.

A horde. Hundreds of them coming from behind us. And they looked absolutely starved. So, what do you do when the leagues of the undead are after your juicy, live flesh?

"Run!!!" Louis shouted as he took off down the bridge.

All of us started to follow his lead…or I thought at first. I stopped when I realized Zoey wasn't by my side anymore. I quickly turned to see that she was frozen in fear, from the fact that there was a horde approaching, and from the fact that she was being forced to run across a rickety, old bridge. I dashed back to her as fast as my legs would take me, scooping her up in my arms bridal style, and rushing back to the others. We were almost to the end of the bridge when the back of it suddenly collapsed—the weight of all the Infected must have been too much. I tossed Zoey to Louis before I went soaring downward with the rest of the howling Infected.

"Zack!" I heard Zoey and the others scream.

_Don't worry, Zoey. I promised you I wouldn't leave you again. I never break my promises._ As if on instinct, my body turned upright, like a cat's, and I placing my feet on the heads of two Infected. I pushed upward, and with momentum, sprung myself higher, while pushing the Infected downward. I continued this process, bouncing off the heads of Infected, pushing myself higher, until I was out of Infected to use as makeshift springs. I used the cliff walls this time, lodging my feet onto sturdy rocks and pushing off them, bouncing upward, back and forth between the cliff walls. I reached the top and with one final bounce, landed in front of Zoey.

"Yo!" I said with a grin.

"Zack!" She wrapped her arms around me tightly. "I thought I lost you again."

I hugged her back. "I told you I wouldn't leave you again."

"Man, that was some crazy wall-jumping!" Louis exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah, the psychic boy's fine," Francis said, looking irritated. "Let's go."

Up ahead, there was a small, abandoned house. Outside of it, a car was smashed up; its windows broken; the hood of it torn off—completely unable to be used. We went inside the house, killing some Infected that decided to take residence in it. We took a moment to heal our wounds, grabbing some extra health packs, pills, ammunition, and Molotovs that must have been stocked their by the previous owners. They wouldn't need them anymore.

While the others were taking a moment to rest and get ready, I thought I heard something outside. It could've easily been a rat, bird, or even wind creaking against the trees. But the fact that I smelled something dead made me think otherwise.

"Hey, you guys wait here, I'm gonna check something out," I said, walking out the door.

"Be careful, Zack," I heard Zoey call.

I looked around. There weren't any Infected in sight—we had made sure of that before we entered the house. But what was this smell? It wasn't anything like the other Infected. Not a Boomer. Not a Smoker. Not a common Infected. What was it?_ Oh well. It's moving farther away so it's not much of a threat at the moment._

"Zack, we're leaving now," Bill said. "You ready?"

"Hm? Oh. Yeah, let's go," I said.

We marched onward through the thick forest. A smoker had grabbed Francis, but Bill took it out without a problem. Once again, we passed by a few more broken cars. One was bent down the middle, forcing it into a taco-like shape. We rounded the corner and came to a large, broken, chain-link fence. One part of the fence was completely torn off, and it had fallen into the river down below. The river itself was murky and polluted. There were cars and dead bodies in the water. It flowed around a small building that was probably built there before there was a river. I also noticed that we were standing below a long, narrow, tunnel-like bridge.

As we moved further through the woods, the smell of death from earlier returned. And this time it was close. The smell was getting stronger at a fast pace. Suddenly, the ground beneath us began to shake a little, and I knew I wasn't the only one who felt it.

"Uh, guys?" Zoey said as she came to a halt along with the rest of us. "Do you feel that?"

"Yeah," Bill was reloading his gun quickly. "And I doubt it's an earthquake."

Louis gasped and pointed shakily ahead of us, in the direction of some trees. "What the hell is that?!"

We all turned to face where he was pointing. I realized with horror that what I had smelled earlier was a Tank…the same type of Infected that had attacked Zoey and I the night we escaped the asylum. And damn was it _big_! It was at least eight feet tall, with huge muscles—that was probably what smashed all the cars—and its jaw was torn off, making its tongue hang out limply. It was almost like an Infected version of the Incredible Hulk.

"_RAAAAH!!!_" the Tank yelled as it pulled a giant tree stump out of the ground with ease, and hurled it toward us.

"Duck!" Bill yelled.

We all jumped to different sides as the tree stump flew passed us. I quickly recovered, crouching into a fighting position, and looking around to see if Zoey was okay. She was now crouching behind a bush, aiming her sniper rifle at the giant Infected. She and Francis started firing away at it while Bill grabbed a Molotov he had obtained earlier from that abandoned house and lit the wick with his lighter.

"Fire in the hole!" Bill yelled as he threw the Molotov, hitting the Tank square in the chest.

The Tank didn't seem to be fazed by the bullets so far, but the fact that he was now burning alive—or dead, however you preferred to look at it—made him roar in anger. He was now chasing after Louis, who was running backwards, trying to get away from it, while simultaneously shooting it in the face.

Now it was my turn to take action. Before the Tank could catch up to Louis, I sprang myself forward several feet, landing on its back. I clawed and tore my way through to its spine; I could see the bloody bone already. I was just about to sever a plate in its back when it reached behind and grabbed me. It held me in a bone-crunching grip. I could literally hear, and _definitely _feel a few of my ribs breaking. It tossed me aside, sending me sprawling into a large, hard tree. I gasped in pain at the impact, making blood fly out of my mouth, and fell to the ground.

"Zack!" Zoey shouted. She, Bill and Francis were now unloading lead into the beast-like Infected's back.

I saw Louis come over to me to help me up. He held his hand out to me, and I gladly took it. Once I was up, I heard him shout, "There's a safe house up ahead!"

Bill and Francis stayed a little bit behind us, shooting at the Tank, as we all started hauling ass to the safe house. Although my sides were burning like hell from my broken ribs, I managed to keep up with the others without any trouble. Not two seconds before we were in the room, the Tank finally went down. We shut the door and barred it immediately with a metal pipe. Francis and Louis grabbed a large desk and some chairs to put up against the door.

We all sat down to catch our breath. We were lucky to be alive after an encounter with an Infected that strong.

"What the hell was that?!" Francis asked.

"That was a Tank," I said. "It's the same thing that attacked Zoey and I before."

Zoey crawled over to me, a look of deep concern plastered on her face. "Zack, how bad are you hurt?"

I grunted a little, clutching my side. "A few of my ribs are broken, but I should be fine by tomorrow. Infected heal fast."

Zoey breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear…that you'll heal soon, I mean." She added that last part with embarrassment. I smiled at her.

Francis' stomach growled. "Man, I could use something to eat."

"Well, kid, let's see what we've got." Bill got up and walked over to a small pile of crates. He pried it open with a crowbar that was conveniently lying on the floor. "Alright, we've got some canned goods, some chips, a bag of potatoes and...three boxes of Hot Pockets."

"Ooh, man," Louis said, patting his stomach a little. "I can't eat those Hot Pockets."

"Isn't there any meat?" Zoey asked, for my sake.

Bill double checked. "Hmm…the Hot Pockets have some meat in 'em, but other than that, no."

Zoey smiled sadly at me. "Sorry, Zack. It's not much to eat for you."

"I'll be fine," I promised. "I'm not even all that hungry." My stomach growled in defiance. I felt my cheeks redden a little in embarrassment. I chuckled slightly. "Okay, maybe a little."


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 6: Derailed**

That night we had all eaten dinner, or what passed for it. Zoey and the others ate some cold beans and chips with some paper plates and plastic utensils they had found. I, on the other hand, was stuck picking the meat squares out of Hot Pockets. I was still hungry, but it would get me through the night…maybe.

Bill was the first to fall asleep, followed by Francis and Louis. Zoey was still awake, although she looked like she was about to pass out from exhaustion.

I smiled. "Zoey, you don't have to stay awake with me. I'll be fine."

"I know, but…ever since you returned to me, I've wanted to spend as much time with you as possible," she replied.

I smirked. "Missed me that much, huh?"

She looked at me seriously. "You have no idea."

There was silence between us for a long while, before she finally spoke again. "So, what's it like?"

I blinked. "What's what like?"

"You know," she said. "Being an Infected."

I shrugged. "I don't really know if it's the same for every kind of Infected. But for me, being a Hunter has its ups and downs. I love being able to run fast and jump around like a crack-addicted monkey." Zoey laughed a little at my explanation. But then I continued in a more serious tone. "But…the hunger is extremely painful, almost to the point where it makes me go insane. And I can only see in a sickening sepia-reject color, except for when I look at other Infected; them I can see in color. And I would be glad about my heightened sense of smell…if everything didn't smell like a rotting corpse. Except for you, that is."

She smiled a little at that last compliment, but then frowned. "Are you in pain now? From hunger?"

"Nah," I lied. The fact was that right now it felt like my stomach had needles bouncing around in it—or maybe that was just my broken ribs. But I didn't want her to worry even more. "Anyway, how did you meet these guys?" I gestured to the sleeping forms of Bill, Francis and Louis.

"Well, I met Louis first," she explained. "He was fending off a group of his Infected co-workers. He was an IT technician before the infection hit. After that, we met Bill the next day at one of those Vietnam War veteran's reunion things. He became a sort of team leader for us. Then a couple days later we met Francis, who was blasting the head off of his bike mechanic."

"Huh, so the infection got to his mechanic?" I asked.

"Nah. He screwed Francis over by jacking up the price of the repair." The look I gave her made Zoey laugh. "I was kidding, Zack."

"Wait," I started. "So I was asleep for almost a week?"

She shrugged. "I guess so. But…how did it happen? How did you get infected?"

"Well, after you escaped, I ran from the Tank until I came to an empty cell and hid in there," I replied. "I didn't see the Hunter up above me, and by the time I did, it was too late. He was on top of me, but I killed him with some broken glass. But then some of his blood got in my mouth, and I accidentally swallowed it. That's how I was turned."

Zoey frowned. "I'm so sorry, Zack."

I shook my head. "Don't be. I'm just glad you made it out alive."

"Zack…" she trailed off, her eyelids getting heavy. Before she was completely asleep, she whispered the words, "I love you."

I smiled as I looked down at her cute, sleeping form. "I love you, too. Goodnight, Zoey."

When morning came, there was no light shining through the bars of the steel door. The safe house we were staying in was located on the inside of a much larger building. But the lack of light wasn't what was bothering me. What was really bothering me was my extreme hunger. It no longer felt like needles having a party in my stomach; now it felt like white hot knives stabbing me from all sides, trying to escape their confines. I would just have to endure it until the next safe house.

When we left that morning, we found ourselves walking down a long hall and winding up at the top of a large storage room, where metal beams protruded from the walls, connecting to each other from various points.

"Man, those beams don't look too sturdy," Louis mentioned worriedly.

Bill walked forward and cautiously pressed his weight onto the beam in front of us. It creaked a little, but was otherwise sturdy. "They'll hold us, but let's try to hurry."

We hurried along the beams until we came to a broken one leading down to the bottom floor; we quickly walked down it. Once we were on the floor again, we searched the shelves for any useful items. We were lucky enough to find: a pipe bomb, two Molotovs, and a bottle of pain pills.

We found a door that seemed to be leading into another room. Bill snuck up to the wall next to it. "Alright kids, let's open it quietly, just in case any loud noises might alert another horde."

Francis rolled his eyes. "Screw it old man. We're in a hurry!" He brought his leg up and thrust it forward, bashing the door in. It slammed against the wall behind it loudly.

"Francis, you idiot!" Zoey scolded. "Are you _trying_ to get us killed?!"

Karma must truly exist, because in that moment, a loud chorus of moans and screams resonated through the air. The shadows of the horde could be seen on the back wall in this new room.

"Shit!" Bill swore. He looked around for anything that could help. "There's a staircase over there! Someone throw a pipe bomb and let's get out of here!"

Zoey snatched the pipe bomb that hung at her side. She pressed the activation button and let it fly. We all ran towards the stairs and started to climb. A few seconds later, the bomb went off and only a few Infected were left. We reached the upper part of the room and ran as fast as we could.

Francis shot backwards, hitting an Infected in the face, killing it instantly. He smirked. "Gotcha fucker!"

"Through that door!" Bill shouted, pointing towards an exit.

A second horde was already chasing after us as we reached the door. If we didn't do something fast, they would catch us. We could just use the second pipe bomb, but that might not kill all of them, and we might need that Molotov for later if we run into another Tank. Then, I saw something lying on the ground next to us. It was a small fuel canister.

I grabbed the canister and threw it in front of the oncoming horde. "Now, Louis, shoot that tank!"

Louis fired a well-aimed shot at the canister, making it explode into flames, creating a wall of fire to burn the entire horde. We quickly shut the door behind us.

"Nice thinking, kid," Bill said, patting me on the back. "You've saved our asses once again."

"I hate hordes," Francis mumbled.

I looked around. We were now in a dark tunnel…no, a train station. But it was completely trashed. Trains were toppled over and derailed. Cars were piled on top of each other. The place looked more like a car graveyard than a train station.

"Well, let's get climbing," Bill said, lighting up once more and taking a drag. "Those trains ain't gonna move themselves."

Francis crossed his arms. "I hate trains."

"What _don't_ you hate?" Louis asked.

Francis shrugged. "Chicks, booze, sex, my cat…" he trailed off.

"Aw, you have a kitty?" Zoey asked.

"I _did_," Francis replied. "Before the Infected got to him." He chuckled a little. "The little demon put up one hell of a fight though! Man, I'm gonna miss Franky."

We started climbing over cars and trains as we killed a few Infected along the way. When we got to a dead end, we found a large hole in the brick wall next to us. Entering through it, we walked down the narrow hall that followed.

My stomach ached and growled painfully. I clutched it and gritted my teeth.

"Zack, what's wrong?" Zoey asked worriedly.

"Ungh…my stomach…it hurts…" I said. "We need to get to the next safe house fast."

"Right," Louis said. "The sooner the better."

Francis rolled his eyes. "I don't know why we don't just shoot him before he attacks us."

I glared at him. "You know, Francis, those Hot Pocket chunks are pretty lonely in my stomach. Care to join them?"

"Alright, just settle down, both of you," Bill ordered. "We should be coming up to the next safe house soon, so hold your horses."

As Bill had predicted, about fifteen minutes later, we finally made it to a safe house. After boarding up the entrance with whatever we could find to reinforce it, we started looking around for food. Once again, there was no meat.

"Damn it!" I yelled in frustration, frantically searching for something that could tide me over for a while. Nothing. The pain in my stomach grew.

"Uh, hey man, you gonna make it?" Louis asked.

I turned to look at him and the others. They all suddenly looked so…delicious. _Maybe…just an arm…or a leg…NO!_ I shook my head violently. I turned to Zoey.

"Zoey, I need to get out of here to hunt for food. If I don't, I'm afraid I might kill someone. I'm going insane from the hunger," I answered quickly, the madness clear in my voice.

"O-Okay," she said worriedly. She ran over to the door and opened it for me. I practically sprinted out the door.

"Now, Zoey, lock the door behind me," I explained. "Whatever you do, don't let me in until I've eaten. And don't come looking for me."

"Okay," she said. "Be careful, Zack."

"I will. See ya later," I said as she shut the door behind me.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 7: A Proposal**

I was in a dark hallway—not that the darkness mattered to me. The only light was coming from a hanging light bulb around the corner. I ran through the halls, sniffing the air for any sign of food. Instead, I smelled the scent of death in the air.

_More Infected must be near_, I thought.

I ran until I came to an exit from the large building I was in. The wind hit my face, clearing my mind a little, but the hunger didn't cease. I was now back in the forest. I ran through the woodland area for what seemed like hours—although it was probably only about ten minutes—slicing through Infected, tearing off the heads of fellow Hunters, and punching a Boomer in the stomach. I was _really_ not in the mood for any of this crap. The path curved and went up over a hill. I had to climb some trees occasionally to see where I was.

There was a building embedded into a rock wall up ahead. It didn't look all that big from the outside. The walls were made from concrete, and a lone window was boarded up. The door was locked tight so I smashed through the window, not even caring how loud a noise I just made.

My stomach ached in pain. I sniffed the air, desperately trying to find the scent of anything I could eat. Then a mouth-watering scent flooded my nostrils. Like raw steak covered in blood.

I followed the scent down a set of stairs and through a narrow hall. Graffiti covered the walls—I didn't bother trying to read what any of them said. The scent led me outside again. It was strong here.

I looked around. There were more trains, some derailed and some still remained on the tracks. The red and blue twilit sky loomed above. A few stars were just barely visible. The cool air carried two scents—one of which I hadn't noticed until just now. The second scent was very familiar.

Just then, the carcass of a freshly killed cow started dangling in front of me. And wrapped around it was a long, slimy tongue. My eyes narrowed as a realized just why the scent was familiar.

"Jerry," I said simply, looking up to meet the face of said Smoker, looking down at me from the top of a train in front of me. He dropped the dead cow in front of me.

I was about to speak up when he put a hand up, signifying that I should keep quiet. "Eat first, then we'll talk," he said.

I didn't even bother to protest. My hunger was leading my actions now. I tore into the cow, ripping through its hide. The moment I sunk my teeth into its flesh, I felt almost as if I was in Heaven—almost, because my absolute Heaven was whenever I was with Zoey. I could feel the blood trickling down neck as it overflowed from the corners of my lips. The 'knives' in my stomach were finally giving up the fight. When I was done eating, my stomach was full, and I sighed contentedly.

"So…it's true what the old geezer said," Jerry said. "Infected can eat any meat."

I had almost forgotten he was there. I looked up in surprise at him. "How did you know…?"

"I've been following you since the swamp," he replied. "And I have to say, that bald friend of yours is a pretty good shot." He then pointed to his face, which I hadn't really been paying much attention to. Across his right cheek, there was a long scar.

My eyes widened. "So, you're the one who attacked Louis."

"Yes," Jerry replied. "And thanks for killing off Michael. He was an idiot."

I clinched my teeth. "But…he was your _friend_! Shouldn't you be angry?"

He shrugged. "I've got other friends. And even some I'd like to make a proposal with."

I knew he was talking about me. "A proposal?"

He jumped from his perch on the train, down to the ground a few feet in front of me. "I'm building an army, Zack, of Special Infected like you and I. The numbers are increasing with each passing day. Soon, I'll have a force large enough to take over all the nations. Zack…I'm willing to give you a second chance. I really don't want to kill you. So I'll make you a deal: I'll call off the Infected; you and I can be allies—we could rule this world even; and we'll pretend this whole thing never happened."

It was an appealing thought, being the ruler of the world. Deep down, didn't everyone want to have great power like that? Or maybe that was just truly evil people: Hitler, Napoleon, Stalin…and the Infected. I stood my guard, in case he had something up his sleeve. "What's the catch?"

"Oh, it's nothing much." He shrugged and smirked a little. "All you have to do…is destroy the humans."

"What?!" I yelled, my eyes widening. "Hell no! I'd never betray them like that!"

Jerry shrugged. "Fine. You can turn your girlfriend into an Infected and she can rule with us. Just kill the other three."

I thought back to all the moments I shared with Zoey and the others. Zoey, I obviously would _never_ condemn to this kind of life; the life of an Infected. And Bill; he was a kind old man, with a bad ass attitude from his war experiences, and on top of all that he was very wise; the perfect leader. I already considered Louis to be a comrade; an ally; a friend. Although he may not be the bravest person I'd ever met, he sure as hell cared about his comrades, and I have no doubt he would put his life on the line for them. But then there was Francis. I hadn't liked him from the moment I met him. He was a conceited jackass, and I honestly couldn't care less if he died. But despite my dislike for him, he was still a comrade…unfortunately.

"My answer…" I said coldly, "…is no."

Jerry looked shocked; angered. "What?! I just offered you the world; the opportunity to rule beside me as my greatest comrade…and you…say…NO?!"

I stood my ground defiantly. "I already have my own world…" I immediately thought back to Zoey, and that smile of hers that always brought me joy in my deepest sorrow, "…and you're not part of it."

Jerry clinched his teeth. "You'll regret you ever spoke those words. We _will_ meet again, Zack." And with that, he was gone.

It was almost nightfall. Now that I was sane again, I had to get back to Zoey and the others. I started my journey back to the safe house, digging my claws into the earth and propelling myself forward. I found running on all fours like an animal to be a faster way of traveling than on two feet. I reached the safe house in no time, only being attacked by a few Infected along the way, who I sliced through easily.

"Zoey, I'm back," I said as I knocked on the steel door. "And I'm not hungry anymore."

No response.

I raised an eyebrow and peeked through the bars. My eyes widened. The place looked completely destroyed, and Zoey and the others were nowhere in sight. The door that we had barricaded up earlier was broken off its hinges. I looked down through the bars and noticed the metal pipe that normally kept it barred was gone. I pushed the door open and looked around. Most of the supplies were gone off the table. I looked to my right and noticed something scrawled on the wall in ink. People would normally leave notes on the walls with a marker for their loved ones, but this note wasn't here before. I walked up to it and read it out loud.

"_Zack, if you get this message, we're under attack from behind. Something huge is trying to break in, and I don't think that door is going to last much longer. We're going on up ahead. Meet us at the next safe house. I'm sorry we have to leave. Please be safe. I love you – Zoey."_

My eyes widened. I thought back to what Jerry had said about building an army. _Shit! Could it have been his army? Is it growing that fast? I have to warn the others!_

I ran out the door, following the still-fresh scent of my comrades. No matter what, I had to find them. I had to warn them before it was too late.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 8: Claws and Tears**

I ran through the trees, keeping hidden from the Infected. I really didn't want to have to deal with them right now. My top priority at the moment was finding my comrades—mainly Zoey.

My mind was jumbled with thoughts of despair. _What if the Infected were too much for them? What if they ran out of bullets? Why didn't I run into them on my way back? Did they take a different route? Could they have run into another Tank…or worse? But what's worse than a Tank? Damn it! Shut up, Zack! They're fine! Zoey's a strong girl. She can take care of herself…right?_

I was glad when I made it back to the broken down trains again. I climbed to the top of one and looked around. I could get a pretty good view of the surrounding area from here. Plus, the cool night air helped to clear my mind a little.

There were nothing but trees and random Infected for miles. I couldn't see my comrades anywhere. There were no gunshots blasting through the air; no cracking of dead leaves on the ground; no smell of Zoey or the other survivors anywhere.

_Zoey…where are you?_ I slammed my fist on the metal roof. _Damn it! If it weren't for my stupid hunger, I could've been with you. I should have been there to protect you! Please…please be safe._

I jumped from the train, determined to find the girl I love. It wasn't even a second after my feet hit the ground that I sprang forward and started running on all fours like an animal, my claws digging into the earth with each long bound. I came across a few normal Infected, but mostly tried to avoid them, since I was in too much of a hurry to deal with a bunch of undead idiots.

"Uuuuwaaaaaaah…" a voice moaned softly from afar.

_What was that?_ I thought.

"Uuuuwaaaaaaaah…" the voice moaned again, a little louder—or so it sounded to my ears, since I was moving toward it.

The soft sobbing was close by now. It sounded like it was coming from just around the corner. There was a small house behind one of the trains. It was boarded up, like every other house I'd seen so far, and had a plain, white roof and walls that were stained with splattered blood—it smelled fresh. As I walked closer to the house, the cries became louder, and the voice of their owner sounded feminine. I pushed the door open quietly. I looked around curiously, trying to find the owner of the voice. I walked into the next room, and saw someone, a girl, hurdled up in a corner. At first I thought it might be Zoey, and my heart leaped with joy. But then I smelled the scent of death emanating from the girl—although she also smelled faintly of daisies—and I took in her appearance for the first time. She had claws; long ones, smeared with blood. Her clothes were torn to shreds, leaving only enough to cover her chest and waist. She looked to be around maybe fifteen or sixteen years old. She had very pale skin and shoulder-length, blonde hair. She had her arms wrapped around her legs and her head buried in her knees.

_Why's she crying?_ I thought._ Is she an Infected?_ "Uh…excuse me?"

The crying stopped and was immediately replaced with growling. She snapped her tear-filled eyes up at me. They burned red with the mixture of being irritated from crying, and the fact that her irises were crimson.

"What?!" she snapped in fury. "Did you come here to make fun of me, _Hunter_?!" She said that last part with malice.

I blinked. "What? No. Why would I do that?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know. You pricks always pick on me. Everyone does. They all call me fat, ugly, a killer…the list goes on. So what is it this time? Huh? What have you got up your sleeve for the Witch?"

I shook my head and held up his hand. "I didn't come to insult you. I've never even heard of a 'Witch' before. I just heard you crying and came to see what was wrong."

The girl known as a 'Witch' gave me a confused look. "You…you're not here to hurt me?"

I walked towards her slowly and kneeled down next to her. "I would never do that. I don't think you're ugly or fat." I gave her a reassuring smile. "Some people just tend to judge before they know all the facts."

She gave me an odd look. "And just what would you know about me?"

I shrugged. "Well, I don't. But I'd like to." I held out my hand for her to shake. "I'm Zack. What's your name?"

The girl looked at my hand questioningly, and then slowly took it in her own long hand, trying not to scratch me. She looked up at me with those crimson eyes, biting her lip slightly before replying, "Samantha."

"Samantha," I said, testing the name. "Cool name."

She looked a little uncomfortable, so I let go of her hand. I stood up, looking around and sniffing the air. "Well, I gotta go. There are some friends of mine that I'm looking for."

"Wait!" Samantha shouted, and then looked a little embarrassed by her sudden outburst. "Don't leave me. I don't want to be alone again. You're the only person who's actually bothered to speak to me…in a kind way, that is."

I looked down at her and smiled. "Okay, then do you want to come with me?" I almost immediately regretted asking that. What if she didn't like humans? Would she attack the others if we found them?

She smiled for the first time since meeting her. It was a genuine smile of happiness. "Yes!"

She slowly rose to her feet and got up, her legs wobbling slightly. When she tried to move forward, her knees buckled and she fell. I quickly caught her as she fell against my chest. She stayed there for a few seconds before standing up straight and looking down in embarrassment, a light blush covering her cheeks in contrast to her pale skin.

"Sorry!" she said quickly.

I laughed a little. "It's fine. Come on, let's go."

We walked out of the house and back towards the path I was taking before. There was a large, wooden bridge above us, connected to the two rocky walls on either side of us, and being supported by long, wooden pillars that connected to the ground—but they didn't look like they were supporting it very well. A couple broken lifts and other heavy machinery were stationed along the walls. We finally came to the end of the train tracks, where a mountain of broken trains and scrap metal stood, blocking our way.

Samantha shivered beside me. "Now what do we do?"

I looked around for anything that could help us. Something caught my eye on the side of the train next to us. A lever. And it seemed to be connected to whatever was holding the train in place. I looked back to the pillars that were holding the bridge up above us. Something clicked in my mind.

"I have an idea," I said. "But it's dangerous. And loud. It might attract a horde."

Samantha looked at me questioningly. "What's wrong with that? We're Infected, too."

I mentally slapped myself. _That's right, Samantha doesn't know that the Infected are after me._ "It's a long story. Just trust me when I say it won't be pretty if they catch us."

Samantha stared at me for a moment before nodding. I walked over to the lever and pulled it. Just as I thought, the train rolled back along the tracks and crashed into the wooden pillars, forcing the bridge to fall and create a ramp leading up to the upper wall. And right on cue, screams broke the silence in the air. The horde was approaching fast.

"Come on!" I grabbed Samantha's hand and pulled her along as we ran towards the broken bridge.

The first wave of Infected came. I sliced off the heads of a few that got close to us. Samantha decided to demonstrate her power by letting go of my hand and rushing forward, holding her hands out and swiping her sharp, claw-like fingers through countless Infected. We worked together and took out the first wave easily.

"Why are they attacking us?" Samantha asked.

I grimaced. "It's not you they're after…."

I pulled Samantha along again before she could question me further. We ran up the makeshift ramp and pushed it to the ground so that the Infected couldn't follow. There was a Boomer trying to follow us, but the bridge fell on it, squashing it like a bug. I stared down at the horde a moment longer before turning toward Samantha, who was crossing her arms.

"Alright, tell me what the hell just happened?" Samantha asked, furious. "Why did our own kind attack us?"

I sighed. "Alright, listen closely…" I told her the story of how I became an Infected. I told her about Jerry, Zoey and the others, and how I ended up helping humans.

"…and now Jerry's mad because I won't help him with his idiotic plan to take over the world," I finished.

Samantha blinked. "Wow. So, those humans are your friends?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You…you're not mad…are you?"

She looked down at the ground and closed her eyes. "Zack, let me tell you a story of my own. Before this whole 'infection' thing started, I never really had that great of a life. My parents were abusive, and I was always made fun of at school. I started to hate everyone. And then when the infection started, I was turned into a Witch. I felt horrible. Even though I would always try to never show how much pain I was in while I was a human, when I became an Infected, things just seemed to fall apart. Like I couldn't control my own emotions.

"I went back home, hiding away from everyone else. I hadn't seen my parents for a couple days. Then my father came up to my room. He saw what I had become, and he tried to shoot me. I killed both him and my mother in anger. After that, everyone who was still human tried to kill me, too. All I wanted was to be left alone. I wouldn't have killed anyone if they hadn't provoked me. But no, it's always 'Look! A Witch! Kill her!' and then they try to shoot me. The humans hate me, and they try to kill me before they even know me.

"So, you're asking if I'm mad?" She finally looked up at me, tears staining her cheeks. Her eyes took on a dark, cold look. "I. Fucking. HATE. Humans. Yes, Zack, I'm mad."

I felt sorry for her. I couldn't believe that anyone would want to hurt such a sweet girl. She'd had such a rough past, and that's probably why she acted a little standoffish at times.

I sighed. "I'm sorry you've been hurt so bad. But Zoey and the others…with the exception of maybe one…aren't like that at all. They'd never hurt you if they saw the person you really are."

"Shut up!" Samantha yelled. "How can you be friends with them? All humans are the same! They're all judgmental assholes! I hate them!" She let the tears flow down her face. There was deep sadness mixed with anger. "And I hate you!"

She ran off crying into the forest. I was about to run after her when I suddenly heard gunshots. My heart skipped a beat. _Zoey!_

I took off running in the direction of the noise. In the back of my mind, I felt bad for not running after Samantha, but she was a strong girl. Besides, Zoey and the others are my main priority.

I saw four silhouettes running through the dark forest. I hoped with all of my being that it was Zoey and the others. I ran towards them, keeping wary of my surroundings in case any more Infected were around.

"Shh, you hear that?" I heard Louis whisper.

"Sounds like it's getting closer," Bill said, cocking his newly-acquired auto-pump shotgun.

I wondered what they were talking about. I didn't hear anything. I kept my ears and eyes open for anything that might be of any danger to them.

As I got closer, I saw Francis turn towards me. I noted that he had somehow lost his shot gun and was now carrying two pistols. There was a sort of glint in his eye. He saw me clearly, and he smirked.

_What is he—_

"Hunter!"

And then I felt something bite into my leg. A searing, burning pain shot up my leg and I fell to the ground. I clutched at the wound and growled in pain. They ran over to me and looked down at me.

Zoey gasped. "Zack!" She fell down on her knees next to me and pulled me into her lap.

Bill kneeled down next to me and Louis stood beside Zoey. I glared up at Francis as he came over, a mock look of concern playing on his face.

"You bastard!" I yelled. "You saw me, and you still shot me!"

He shrugged. "I thought you were an enemy Hunter. You all look the same to me."

"You son of a—"

"Zack," Zoey said, cutting me off, "stop it. He didn't know it was you."

I looked up at her incredulously. How could she believe him over me? I suddenly felt myself being lifted up by Bill. He slung one of my arms over his shoulder.

"Well, kid, it's good to have you back. We were worried," Bill said as he and Louis started helping me towards a nearby safe house.

I heard Louis babbling on about something, but I wasn't listening. I was still gazing at Zoey, who was walking behind me with a look of slight guilt, biting her lip a little. Francis walked beside her, smirking at me, with his guns lowered in his hands. I glared at him and mouthed the words 'I hate you.' I saw his lips move to form the silent word 'Likewise' back to me.


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 9: Apologies**

I sat in the back of the hot, stuffy safe room, leaning up against a wall. I read a few of the messages people had written in what could have been their final days, hours, or minutes. Some of them were encouraging, telling survivors to keep going, or even giving them directions to places that they might be able to get some help. Some people would leave messages for their loved ones to read, if they made it, telling them that they were okay and that they loved them and missed them. Others were not so great, saying things like 'We deserve this' or 'The end is nigh.' One of those messages had talked about a barn house that the government was using as a refugee point, where they would try to contact survivors who made it, and then rescue them. That was our only ticket out of here, so we had to hope that it was true. After I had read over the messages a few times, I decided to find another way to pass the time and distract myself from the burning in my leg.

After that prick Francis shot me, Bill had wrapped up my leg with some ointment and gauze after pulling the bullet out with some pliers he had found lying around. It still hurt, but it would heal by tomorrow morning.

Bill and Francis had already passed out. Louis was keeping in the bathroom, since the soup he had eaten for dinner hadn't reacted well with his stomach. Zoey seemed to be too worried about me to doze off.

_Uh-huh,_ I thought bitterly. _If she was so worried, then why did she scold me after I got shot?_

The soft pitter-patter of feet brought me out of my thoughts.

"Zack?" Zoey asked in a concerned tone of voice. She sat down beside me. I didn't turn to face her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "For leaving you back there. But we had no choice."

I sighed. "That's not what I'm mad about."

"Then what is it?" she asked, confused.

I finally turned my head to look at her. "I'm upset because you chose to believe Francis over me."

Zoey sighed. "Zack, it was dark. Even I was confused for a moment. He only shot you because he thought you were an enemy."

I rolled my eyes. "Zoey, I _saw_ him. The look in his eyes when he noticed me. He _knew_ it was me. I even saw him smirk. You know he's hated me from day one."

Zoey frowned. "Zack, I know you two don't get along, but I'm sure Francis wouldn't shoot you on purpose. He's told me he thinks of you as an ally."

"Well he's lying!" I said in an angered whisper.

Zoey glared at me. "Oh, you mean how you did to me?"

I blinked. "What?"

She crossed her arms. "You told me you weren't hungry; that you weren't in pain. You lied to me!"

"I only did that because I didn't want you to worry," I replied.

"Well I was worried sick when you were gone," she said, her eyes glistening.

I immediately felt guilt. _Oh, nice going, Zack! You made her cry. You're such an idiot._

I wrapped my arm around her and held her close. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all that. I love you more than you could ever imagine, and I don't want to see you hurt."

She hugged me back. "I don't want to see you hurt either, Zack. I'm sorry you got shot. Are you okay?"

I let go of her and looked down at my wound. "It still kind of hurts, but it'll heal. I'm fine."

"That's good," she responded. She then looked down at the ground and bit her bottom lip—she looked so cute when she did that. She looked back up at me through her lashes. "Zack?"

"Hm?" I asked.

"Well…" She played with her fingers a little bit, "…I've been wanting to try something." Her face inced closer to mine.

"Zoey," I breathed.

"How in control are you?" She asked innocently.

"I-I don't know," I said.

I stared into her green eyes. Those beautiful green eyes that had captivated me so many times before. She gave me a wry smile.

"Kiss me."

I gulped. Would I be able to? It would be the first time we'd kissed since I became an Infected. But would I be able to control myself enough not to kill her? Or would it be too much, and would I end up hurting her? I wanted to so bad—to feel her lips on mine. But it seemed forbidden now. Like when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. I feared that to kiss her now, with the sinful lips of a killer, would be to taint her purity.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, her lips drawing ever so closer to mine. I could feel her breath on my lips as she spoke. "I'm not afraid. Are you?"

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It was now or never. I wrapped my arms around her waist, careful not to scratch her. And then I slowly and gently pressed my lips to hers. Static ran throughout my body. It was the greatest feeling in the world; a rush to my head. The world and time itself seemed to stop around us. And for that moment, all there was was Zoey. Her lips tasted like strawberries. I licked at her bottom lip a little, asking for entrance. She gladly granted it, and our tongues clashed, fighting for dominance. When we had to break apart for air, it seemed like the kiss hadn't lasted long enough.

Zoey stared at me through half-lidded eyes. She smiled. "Still as good as I remember."

My mind snapped back to reality. I laughed a little and scratched the back of my head. "I hope I didn't taste too bad."

She shook her head. "Nope. Although there was a hint of beef."

I thought back to when Jerry gave me that cow, and grinned a little.

"What?" Zoey asked, see the look on my face.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

There was a flushing sound, and Louis finally walked out of the bathroom, holding his stomach.

"Damn. I'm not eating that stuff again," he said. He then turned to look at us and raised a brow while giving a knowing smile. "Did I miss something?"

I blinked and looked down at our positions. Zoey was sitting in my lap, pressing up close to me, with her arms still wrapped around my neck. We both scrambled off each other quickly.

I coughed. "Uh, nope. What would make you think that?"

Louis laughed a little under his breath and shook his head. "Goodnight, you two."

"Night, Louis," Zoey said with an embarrassed smile.

"Goodnight," I said.

Louis went over to his own corner and climbed into a sleeping bag, dozing off only seconds later. I turned to Zoey and kissed her lightly once more. She smiled.

"You should get some sleep, too," I said.

She nodded. "Alright." She grabbed a sleeping bag that was lying right next to her and climbed in. Stared at me a moment more. "Zack?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you," she said.

I grinned. "I love you, too. Goodnight."

She yawned and closed her eyes. "Goodnight."


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 10: The Train Station**

As usual, the morning started out with gunshots. After the coast was clear, and everyone was stocked up on ammo and supplies, we opened the door and started heading north.

The morning air was cool, and the trees surrounding us provided lots of shade. Now that we had all our strength back, we were ready to take on the Infected. A few common Infected tried to stop us, but Bill and I tore and blasted our way through them. Once again, Francis and Louis had started there competition of who could kill the most Infected. For once, our morning was kind of nice, and we weren't being outnumbered by Boomers, Smokers, hordes, and other Hunters.

We made our way towards a large, red, shed. The inside was filled with farming tools, busted up chicken coops, and other various things one might have if they lived out in the country. There was an upper level of the shed, connected to the ground by a ladder. There was even a car—and it didn't look busted up or smashed. Maybe it still worked…

"Francis, check to see if that car still has gas in it," Bill ordered, asking my question for me.

Francis walked over to the old automobile and opened the gas tank, looking inside with his flashlight. A wide grin spread across his face. "Hell yeah! I bet I can hotwire this thing."

"Good," Bill said. "Work on that while we keep an eye out for Infected."

While Zoey, Bill, Francis and Louis checked out the shed for more supplies and worked on the car, I cleared a path for us outside. I noticed a few dead cows, too—Jerry must have gotten the one he gave me from here.

Suddenly, the stench of death started wafting through the air again. And it was strong. My teeth clinched. _A horde!_

"Zack!" I heard Zoey call.

I immediately started running back to the shed. When I got inside, I saw everyone fending off the Infected from every direction. I tore the head off one that was coming up on Zoey from behind. Gunshots rang through the air as more Infected fell.

"Everyone, up the ladder! Move, move, move!" Bill shouted, standing next to the ladder leading to the upper part of the shed.

Zoey climbed first, then Louis, and then Francis. I held off some Infected while Bill climbed, and then crouched and jumped up. There was no back wall, so Francis and Louis were station back there, firing away at any Infected who thought they could sneak up from behind. Bill and Zoey took care of the front, while I made sure that no Infected through from the top, since there were holes in the roof.

A smoker tried to snake its slimy tongue in through a hole in the roof, but I grabbed the tongue, pulled the sneaky Infected through, and then proceeded to tear it apart. Bill made a boomer explode down below, making bile fly all around, but none got on us. Francis punched a Hunter in the face that was trying to jump up to the top, and then Louis got a headshot on it. Soon the first wave of the horde was gone, but I could already hear the second approaching.

"Come on!" Francis yelled. "I got the car to work before the horde came. Let's get out of here!"

We quickly made our way down to the car and got inside. Zoey, Louis and I sat in the back, while Bill took the passengers seat, and Francis was at the wheel. The car roared to life as Francis started the ignition. He slammed his foot on the gas pedal, and we took off.

The second wave of the horde arrived, but a car is the deadliest weapon a person will ever wield. They were no match for Francis insane driving as he sped through them, making them fly off in all directions. We drove north, like we had originally planned to go. The Infected were still following us. Up ahead, there was a ledge and a large building coming up. It looked like a train station. The fact that there was also another long train next to it only proved my point.

I rolled my eyes. _Isn't this a national forest? What's up with all the trains?_

"Alright, everyone, hold on tight!" Francis yelled over the loud engine.

He sped up even more—if that was possible—and before I knew it, we were soaring through the air. That biker lunatic had actually driven off the ledge. Was he trying to get us all killed? Luckily, we flew right in between the train and the building. We landed with a skid, and Francis made a sharp turn, burning rubber and making the gears of the old car screech. We drove alongside the train, hitting a few more Infected in the process. We eventually had to stop, because we came to a dead end. There was a large, red train toppled over on its side, blocking our way. And next to it was a large, two story house, complete with boarded up windows, smashed in doors, and blood covering the peeling white paint on the walls.

We all got out of the car and looked at Francis.

"Well, kid, you've officially proven to us that road rage is one of your many great qualities," Bill said, lighting up another cigarette.

"That was some crazy driving, man," Louis said, panting a little out of exhaustion and fear.

Francis grinned. "Well, hey, we lost the Infected didn't we?"

I looked around. The horde was gone, and we were safe. I gritted my teeth, hating to admit that the prick actually saved our lives.

"Well, looks like the only way to get across is to go through this house," Bill stated.

We walked down a set of stairs leading to a door. When we got inside…I almost puked at what I saw. Blood. So much of it, splattered across the walls and pooling at our feet in a large circle in the middle of the floor. There were body parts flung around the room and chopped up in tiny pieces. And the source of it all? A red lawnmower in the corner; blood and body parts clogging up the motor and staining the blades.

Francis smirked. "Hey, Zack, lunch time."

I rolled my eyes. "_Wow_, aren't you witty?"

I noted that we were in a cellar. There were some shelves lined along the walls, stocked up with broken beer bottles, dirty magazines, and some useless weapons. Some boxes were piled up in a corner. There was also a set of stairs leading up to the main floor.

"Kids, this is nothing," Bill said, taking a drag from his recently lit cigarette. He exhaled the smoke from his nostrils, giving the appearance of an angry bull. "Should've seen what it was like in 'nam."

"Anyway, we should keep moving," Zoey said, reloading her hunting rifle.

Louis was holding his nose, looking disgusted. "Yeah, I can't stand the smell."

We moved up the stairs onto the next floor. Here, there wasn't as much blood, but still enough to make it look like a normal abandoned house would in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. There wasn't much furniture though; a table and a few broken chairs thrown here and there. This room looked like it was once the living room…although there was nothing 'living' about it at all. There were a few broken windows, and a door leading into what looked to be a kitchen. But after seeing what was in the cellar, I was a little disturbed at the thought of what might be waiting in the kitchen.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Louis suddenly said, looking around.

"I don't hear anything," Francis stated.

"No, I hear it, too," Zoey said, and then grimaced. "And _feel_ it."

Just then, I caught the one scent I never wanted to smell again. My eyes widened. "Run!"

Right after I had said that, a Tank smashed its way through a window and climbed in. We ran, shooting at the beast from behind. We dashed up another set of stairs, leading up the last floor. There were many different rooms—bedrooms for the previous owners. But right now wasn't the time to focus on where would be a good place to take a nap.

Louis finished unloading an entire clip from his M16 into the Tank. Francis covered him with his auto pump shotgun while he reloaded.

Zoey was taking cover in one of the rooms, and shooting from around a corner. Bill threw a Molotov at it, but the Tank dodged it, and the fiery wine bottle flew out a window—there had to be some law against throwing flaming bottles in a national forest, even when the world was being overrun by zombies.

In this small a space, it would be hard to fight a Tank…not without someone getting hurt. I looked around and spotted an open window. An idea came to me. I ran in front of the window.

"Hey, dumbass!" I yelled to the Tank, knowing he could hear me. And he did.

The Tank, who was just about to slam his fist down on Louis's injured form lying on the floor, stopped and turned his head slowly to me. His eyes held a rage in them I'd never seen before, well, not on a human anyway.

"What…did…you…just call me?" he replied in a deep voice.

_Yes! It's working! _I cleared my voice. "Oh, I'm sorry. What I said was…GET YOUR SORRY EXCUSE FOR AN INFECTED ASS OVER HERE! What are you, deaf or something? Or are you just incredibly stupid?"

The Tank roared. "I'M GONNA MURDER YOU!!!" He forgot all about the others and came running straight for me.

_Wait for it…wait for it…now!_ I casually stepped to the side as the Tank ran right past me. Out the window.

"The bigger they are…" I started. The sound of something slamming hard against the rocks below us resonated through the air. "…the harder they fall."

"Louis!" Zoey shouted, running toward her beaten comrade and kneeling down next to him.

"How is he?" Bill asked, rushing over to check.

"Ungh…I think he just bruised me up pretty bad," Louis said, moving to sit up straight. He hissed in pain and looked down at his arm. "Never mind. My arm's broken."

"Damn it," Bill said, grabbing the first aid kit off his back and pulling out some gauze. He wrapped it around Louis's arm and neck, making a makeshift sling. "That Tank got you good, but at least you're alive."

I saw Francis roll his eyes and mutter something about hating weaklings. I instantly wished he had fallen out the window with the Tank. Bill helped Louis up, who staggered a little in dizziness.

"I'm okay," Louis said, but the sadness in his voice was clear.

"Well, let's keep moving before something else happens," Bill said.

We crawled out a window and proceeded to climb down to the ground, finally on the other side. There was a large, red bridge waiting for us. We made our way across and came to a safe house. Well, it was actually an old train caboose rather than a house, but either way, it was safe and we could stock up on supplies. We locked ourselves inside, pushing a few heavy objects against the door. We were safe…for now.


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 11: Shadows of the Past**

Night had fallen completely over us. The doors were securely shut, so we would have no problems with the Infected for tonight. Unless of course the constant moaning and vomiting annoyed us to death.

It was dinner time now. Bill and Francis were fighting over who would get the last hot dog…well, it wasn't really a 'hot' dog, since there was nothing to cook it with. Zoey was eating her beans and chips while telling me a story about something she saw on the news before the infection hit. Louis was oddly quiet, eating his food slowly in silence.

I frowned a little. Louis was usually the happiest guy in the group, always trying to get the group's spirits up by showing a grin every now and then. But…this wasn't like him at all. Maybe his spirit finally diminished like the others. I hoped that wasn't the case.

After everyone was finished eating they headed off to sleep as far away from each other has possible in this tiny caboose. I told Zoey goodnight and she smiled, drifting off only seconds later. Louis was the only one still up. He sat with his arms wrapped around his legs, staring up at the sky through a small, glass window.

I got up from where I was sitting and walked over to him, careful not to step on Bill. Francis was safe in a corner though, so I couldn't 'accidentally' crush his face with my foot. I sat down across from Louis.

"Hey," I greeted.

Louis just nodded, silently acknowledging my presence. He continued to stare out the window. I sighed. Something was bothering him, and I was determined to find out what it is.

"Alright, what's bugging you? You haven't said a word this entire night," I said.

"Nothing, Zack," Louis replied in a tired voice. "Just forget it."

I rolled my eyes. "There's obviously something wrong."

He finally looked at me, his eyes drooping somewhat in sadness and from lack of sleep. "What does it matter to you?"

I grinned. "'Cause I consider you a friend. And I don't let my friends go all morose without a good reason."

Louis sighed. He looked down at his broken arm. "I feel like I'm holding the team back. First in the swamp when you had to save me from the horde, and Bill had to waste his med kit on me, and then with the Tank, and I had to be healed _again_. I'm not strong like the others. I'm always second best, or in this case, fifth." He looked down at the floor. "Zack…it was the same when I was a kid. My mom and dad always looked down on me, telling me I should be more like my brother. My brother was a basketball player. He was popular, always got good grades, and even got signed later on from the NBA. But what did I become?" He laughed a little, sadly. "An IT technician. And even then, I hated my job. But I was too much of a chicken to tell my boss I was quitting.

"Everyone's always having to save my ass when something goes wrong. I'm useless. Maybe it would be better if the Infected got me."

I clinched my teeth and glared at him. "You know, maybe you're right." I saw him flinch, obviously not expecting me to agree with him. "If you really think you've been nothing but a nuisance to us, then you really are weak."

My glare softened a little. I looked over to Zoey. Orion was fastened safely in the holster on her belt. "Louis, do you see that gun on Zoey's belt?"

Louis turned his head to look at her. "Oh, Orion? That's the one you gave her, right?"

I nodded. "My old man gave it to me three years ago when I turned sixteen. I had never really liked violence before, so I was a little confused when he gave it to me. He was in the military, and he said he got it from out of the country. After he handed it to me, he looked at me and said 'Your mother always told me she hated guns; that they were dangerous and killed people. But on the battlefield, I had to make some hard choices. I'm giving you this gun to protect yourself and the people you love.' And from that day on, Orion was my most precious possession. I gave it to Zoey to protect her when I couldn't."

I turned my gaze back to Louis. "There's a reason you've survived this long. And it's not just because everyone's got your back. You're here because you've got something to fight for. So what is it? Survival? Your friends? Either way, you're as much a part of this team as anyone else. If you weren't with us, we probably wouldn't have made it this far."

Louis finally looked at me. His lips curved upward in a small smile. "Thanks, Zack. You're right. I won't give up."

I grinned. "Good. 'Cause if you left me here with Francis, I'd personally hunt you down and drag you back."

Louis laughed a little. "No doubt about that." He grabbed a sleeping bag that was lying next to him and placed his gun up against the wall. He climbed inside and turned over. "Night, Zack."

"See ya in the morning," I replied.


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Left 4 Dead, Valve (and probably some other gaming corporations I didn't bother to pay attention to) does.**

**A/N: Just in case you get confused, there won't just be Zack's P.O.V. in this chapter (but I'll mention that in the story). Anyway, this is the final chapter of Book 1: Blood Harvest. I'll probably take a long break before making the sequel though.**

**P.S. I'm sorry this last chapter took a while to finish. And I'm usually not good at finishing off stories, so tell me if this chapter sucked or not so I can improve on them later on. Also, this is an extra long chapter, so grab some coffee and a snack or something and enjoy!**

Until I Find My Way Back To You

_Book 1: Blood Harvest_

**Chapter 12: Farmhouse Finale**

_**(Zack's P.O.V.)**_

Morning came once again, but dark clouds painted the sky, and it was raining hard. We had already used up most of the supplies here, since there wasn't that much to begin with, so we would have to leave today. Everyone stretched out from being in such a tight space. Bill was the first up, as usual. He was making the path clear outside by shooting Infected through the bars of the door.

"I read a note someone left saying there's a farmhouse up ahead that the government is using as a refuge point," I said.

"Then that's where we're going," Bill replied.

He busted open the door and we all ran out, tackling and blasting the heads off every Infected in sight. Louis seemed particularly hyped today. He seemed to be doing a lot better, and he was wiping out Infected left and right, using his newly acquired Uzi in his good hand—it was the only gun he could use in his current state. Zoey had saved Bill from a Smoker that had caught him.

We ran along another long train track and came to another caboose that was derailed and horizontal on the track. It had a yellow ladder on its side, so we used that to get to the top and cross over to a higher up ledge. We were in a small, canyon-like area now. The trees were dead along the rock walls, and most of the plants looked like they had burned in a recent fire. We turned the corner and came to another ledge. There was a yellow sign with a picture of a farmer with a gun. Beneath the farmer, it read 'Private property. Trespassers will be shot.' And beneath the ledge we were standing near, there was a large cornfield.

"Oh boy, hicks with guns," Francis said as he rolled his eyes.

"I doubt they're still living with all the Infected around," Bill replied.

"Well, you never know," Zoey said. "I mean, we're just a group of five, and we're alive."

"Let's just get down to the farm house," Louis said with confidence. "I think I see it up ahead."

Francis looked a little shocked at how brave Louis suddenly sounded. I smirked and mentally congratulated Louis. We carefully climbed down the ledge, me helping Zoey by carrying her down, since I was a better climber than her. Once we were all on the ground, we huddled close together to make sure nobody would get lost in this field.

It was hard to see the Infected in this cornfield, with the rain and the darkness from the clouds casting shadows all around us. A few times, Bill or Zoey had ended up shooting a scarecrow, confusing it for an Infected.

There was a broken down fence next to a red tractor. We climbed over it and suddenly heard a voice from afar. It sounded human. Was there someone still alive?

"Come on, this way!" Bill said.

We all started running towards the sound of the voice. It was getting louder the more we ran. The farmhouse was getting closer. We hopped over another small fence and finally got to the farmhouse, where the voice was the loudest.

"_Hello? Come in! If there is anyone still out there, we are a small group of U.S. military personnel. We can offer food, shelter and protection. Please answer!" _It was a small, black radio. The voice coming from it was male.

Bill ran into the kitchen and picked up the radio. "Hello?"

"_Hello?! Jesus…Captain! Somebody actually made it!"_ That last part was directed towards the man's leader. "_How many of you are there?"_

"Five," Bill replied. He looked at me. "But…one of us is an unusually intelligent Infected. He still has his memories and acts like a human. He's a Hunter type to be exact."

"_An intelligent Infected? How is that even…"_ he trailed off.

"Hello? You still there?" Bill asked.

"_We can pick you all up in…fifteen minutes,"_ the man said. "_There should be some mounted weapons and supplies in the house to help you hold out until we get there."_

And with that, the radio clicked off. Bill hung up and walked over to a table with ammo on it. "Well, kids, you heard the man. Fifteen minutes and we're out of this hell hole. So stock up in case of an attack."

"Well, let's lock all the doors to buy us some time," Louis said, walking off to lock the doors.

"I'll check upstairs for any supplies," Zoey stated.

I followed Zoey upstairs to make sure she was safe. She smiled and took my hand. We walked into what looked like a child's room. Zoey went to check the drawers while I looked around. I saw a picture of a family lying on the floor. I picked it up to take a closer look. The dad was a tall, muscular man with a rough beard and tan skin. He wore traditional farming clothes. He had his arms wrapped around his wife and son. The wife was a beautiful woman with long, flowing, golden hair. She wore a plain white dress. The little boy looked to be about nine years old, with short, blonde hair and blue eyes. But Than I noticed that a piece of the picture was torn off, where the wife's arm was wrapped around something…or someone.

"Zack, I found an extra first aid in the closet," Zoey announced.

"Hm? Oh…that's good," I said, turning my attention back to her and set the photo down.

"Hey!" Francis shouted from downstairs. "If you two are done having sex up there, we need to stay together down here for when our ride comes!"

Zoey blushed and I rolled my eyes at Francis's childish attitude. We walked downstairs and joined the others in the living room. Louis and Bill were sitting down on the couch, while Francis was looking out a window, gun in hand. Bill lit up another cigarette. It was quiet in the house. Only a few minutes had passed.

Suddenly, there was a scream. Sure we had expected a horde or something to attack us. But this scream was unlike any other. This wasn't just a regular horde. This sound must have come from a chorus of the dead.

"Uh, you guys might want to see this…" Francis said, and for the first time, I heard worry in his tone.

I ran to the window along with everyone else. What I saw made my jaw drop. Forget a horde. This was a colony. This…was an army. Hundreds, thousands of Infected coming from all directions. Could this be Jerry's army?

"Shit!" Bill swore. "Fire!"

He, along with everyone else, started firing away at Infected. I heard something trying to break in through the back door. I ran towards it and jumped out an open window. I ripped and tackled about ten Infected that were trying to get through. I saw a Smoker climbing the wall up to a window. I crouched and jumped on him, bringing him to the ground and pinning him there. I tore through his chest until he was no more. More gunshots could be heard from both the top and bottom floors. I saw Zoey in one window, shooting Infected and trying to hold out up there.

I then noticed an enemy Hunter crawling around in the cornfield. He was well hidden from the others, but I saw him. He was eyeing Zoey hungrily. He crouched and pounced toward her. But I was faster. I intercepted him and brought him to the ground.

The Hunter clenched his teeth. "What the hell are you doing?! I'm an Infected!"

My sharp claws gleamed in front of him. "I know."

And within a split second, his head was rolling on the floor beside him, a pool of dark red blood gushing out from his severed neck.

_**(Samantha's P.O.V.)**_

_Damn that guy!_ I thought as I wandered around the forest, looking for a quiet place to be left alone so I could cry.

I kept thinking back to Zack. I couldn't believe that, as a fellow Infected, he would actually be friends with a bunch of low-life humans. I mean, sure, I was a human once. But I've hated humans since before I even became an Infected. And as far as I knew, every other Infected hated humans, too.

_So why is Zack so different?_

I finally found a place under a large oak tree. I couldn't smell any Infected nearby, so I sat down and folded my arms around my knees. I felt the tears start to roll down my eyes as my overly-sensitive emotions took control. I started thinking back to my human life, and all the people who hated me. It's not like I wanted to think of them, but no Witch was able to control their thoughts when it came to crying. I thought of my dad hitting me with a belt across the face when I was ten years old. I remembered the look on his face when I stared up at him. He was obviously drunk, because he then started yelling at me and telling me how his life is horrible now that I'm a part of it, all the while slurring his words.

I had tried to tell my mom about my dad's behavior, but she called me a liar and grounded me. Over the next couple years, I had gone into a state of depression. I started wearing a lot of dark clothing, listened to bands like Evanescence, Three Days Grace, Simple Plan, and Godsmack. My mom told me it was just a phase, and that I should just quit whining and grow up. I still like that kind of stuff though, so I doubt it was just a phase.

Then something else penetrated my mind. Zack. _Why do my thoughts keep wandering back to him?_ I thought.

I remembered how he spoke to me when we met, like he actually cared. He didn't yell at me, cuss me out, tell me I'm worthless, or even try to hurt me. He treated me like a friend. My mind wandered back to how warm he felt when I fell and he caught me. And how thrilling it was when we were fighting the Infected side by side.

Something felt…odd. It took me a moment to realize that the tears had stopped flowing down my face. It took me even longer to realize that I was…smiling. I gasped when I noticed the change. Why did thinking of Zack make me feel…what's the word…happy? I've only known him for, what, a day? It's not like we were friends.

I suddenly heard a loud scream. That meant a horde was coming. But why would there be a horde unless…

"Zack!" I shouted out loud as I jumped to my feet.

I remembered Zack saying that the Infected were after him, too. _He must be in trouble!_

I ran, feeling rage swell up inside me as I started running in the direction of the screams. No one would hurt Zack. No one.

_**(Zack's P.O.V.)**_

A couple minutes had passed. Only a few Infected remained out of the massive horde. I could hear from the radio inside the house that our rescue was half way there.

_Great, that only leaves about seven or eight minutes left,_ I thought to myself.

Suddenly, the ground began to lightly shake. I frowned, knowing _exactly_ what that meant. The shaking grew stronger. It had a sort of rhythm to it, like the mad beating of a drum. But if you danced to this beat, you would put your life on the line.

"Zack!" Zoey shouted as she ran up to me and clutched my arm tight. She was shivering, but not from the cold. Tanks always frightened her most out of all the types of Infected.

Bill, Francis and Louis joined us and got into position. "If we stay out here, we'll have more room to fight," Bill said, looking around.

"Well…" Francis cocked his auto shot gun and smirked, "…let's get this show on the road!"

The beast of an Infected finally showed its ugly, jawless face as it came running out of the cornfield. It looked around and caught sight of us, immediately charging at us and yelling obscenities that only I could understand. It seemed that our little friend from the house had survived that fall.

"I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!!!" the Tank yelled.

"Aw, miss me that much?" I called back to him in the language of the Infected.

Bill started firing away with his M16, and Louis with his Uzi. Francis was shooting directly at the Tank's head, but it still wouldn't go down. Zoey had already ran out of bullets for her hunting rifle, so she was using two pistols, one of which being Orion.

We all spread out so the Tank would have a harder time getting us. Well, it wasn't too interested in the others. It was more pissed off at me and obsessed with getting revenge. I knew I probably wouldn't survive long if I took on the Tank by myself…but I could get it away from everyone. It's not like it could actually catch me anyway.

I ran into the cornfield, making the Tank follow me. Corn stocks whacked it in the face, but it didn't seem to mind much. I climbed over the red tractor we had passed by earlier. The Tank, instead of copying my actions, picked up the tractor and hurled it at me. I was so surprised by the action, I didn't have time to dodge. It hit me dead-on and I went flying several yards away. I tried to catch my breath. My head hurt and I was so dizzy, I thought I might puke. I heard the Tank coming closer as I lay there, completely defenseless.

_Is this it?_ I thought, my hopes dying. _So this is how I go, huh?_

I saw the Tank standing directly above me. It raised its massive fists into the air, ready to deliver the final blow. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end. Suddenly, there was the sound of something being sliced through, almost like when you swipe a stick through the air and cut the wind. I opened my eyes and saw the Tank standing there, motionless. A second later, his body split into three pieces and slid to the ground. I blinked, wondering what could have…

"Hey, Zack," a familiar voice said from above.

I looked up and saw Samantha standing there, blood dripping off her razor-sharp claws. She smirked and held a hand-er…_claw_ out to me. I grabbed it and she pulled me up to my feet.

I blinked in astonishment. "S-Samantha? What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. "What? I need _permission_ to save your ass?"

I chuckled a little. "No, but I thought you hated me. So…why did you save me?"

She shrugged. "You saved me, so I thought I should return the favor. Now come on!"

I was about to ask her what she meant by that, but she grabbed my hand and started pulling me along with her. We reached the house and saw that there was a second horde attacking, and most of the doors and windows were broken and busted off their hinges.

I looked at Samantha and smirked. "You ready to kick some zombie ass?"

Samantha grazed her claws together, and it made a sound like sharpening a knife. "With pleasure."

We charged at the house and sliced our way through any Infected that got in our way, just like we did back at the train station. I noticed Bill was on the floor, injured, and being surrounded by Infected. We went for him first, slicing through the Infected. I helped Bill up and quickly explained the situation with Samantha.

"Well, that's good," he replied while I quickly helped him heal his injuries. "We need all the help we can get."

All three of us headed back to the farm house. Bill and Samantha went upstairs to fight more Infected with Zoey and Louis while I took care of things downstairs. Just then, I heard a choking sound coming from the kitchen. I ran to said area of the house and saw a Smoker strangling Francis through a window and punching him in the face. He looked at me pleadingly. His face was already turning blue.

For a moment, I seriously considered leaving him there. After all the things he'd done to me, why should I care about his pathetic life? But…then I remembered what Jerry had told me a while back.

***

_My eyes widened. "So, you're the one who attacked Louis."_

"_Yes," Jerry replied. "And thanks for killing off Michael. He was an idiot."_

_I clinched my teeth. "But…he was your _friend_! Shouldn't you be angry?"_

_He shrugged. "I've got other friends. And even some I'd like to make a proposal with."_

***

Back then, he showed me he didn't care about his friends. And although Francis was the farthest thing from a friend to me…he was my comrade. And to leave him to die now would make me no better than Jerry.

I flew forward and ripped the Smoker off Francis, killing it instantly. I got back up and looked at him. "Next time, try not to get yourself killed."

"Tch, I didn't need your help," he replied stubbornly, trying to catch his breath.

"Whatever," I said. "Just shut up and fight."

Two minutes later and the second horde was finished. A rumbling sound started approaching and for a moment, I thought it was another Tank. But the strong smell of death that usually came along with a Tank didn't appear. This time, I smelled gasoline.

"They're here!" Zoey shouted.

"Come on!" Bill ordered.

The rescue car rounded the corner and stopped near us. A soldier stuck his head out the window and waved to us.

"Come on, get in!" he shouted as the back of the army car opened up and became a ramp. More Infected came and we rushed to the car. Zoey was the first on, then Louis, followed by Francis, Bill, and then me. But something was missing.

"Samantha!" I shouted. I looked around for her and saw her fighting off some more Infected.

"We don't have room for her, kid," Bill said in a sympathetic tone.

"But—we can't just leave her!" I replied. "They'll kill her! She's as much a part of this as any of us now!"

The car started to drive off and the back started to close up. I looked to Zoey, already knowing what I was about to do. I gave her a quick kiss on the lips…it would be the only one for a while, but not the last. She looked at me in concern, but something in her eyes told me she already knew what I was planning.

"Come back safely," she whispered, only loud enough for me to hear.

"I will," I said with a small smile. "I promise."

And with that, I jumped.

I hit the ground hard and rolled. I heard the shouts of Bill and Louis, but I ignored them. I dug my claws into the ground and ran as fast as I could. I pounced, landing on an Infected that was about to hit Samantha from behind. She turned to look at me, shock written all over her face.

"Z-Zack?! Why aren't you escaping with the others?"

I grinned at her. "Friends don't leave friends to die in a zombie apocalypse."

And in that moment, I saw her smile. It was one of true happiness. I saw something wet roll down her cheek and she looked down at the ground.

I blinked. "Hey, are you alright?"

She wiped it away and looked back up at me. "Yeah…just a piece of zombie guts in my eye."

We stared at each other for a moment and then started laughing uncontrollably. Our laughter died down a moment later and we killed a few more Infected.

"But…" Samantha started, "…what about that girl? Zoey?"

I smiled and looked up at the sky. The rain had finally stopped. "I'll see her again soon. I promised her I'd return."

Samantha nodded and smiled. "Then, until you find your way back to her, feel like hanging out with me for a while?"

I grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

_**To be continued…**_


End file.
